SANAA (AFP) – Yemen claimed Thursday that U.S. officials have exaggerated the size and danger of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, insisting also that fighting the jihadist network's local branch remains Sanaa's job.

A Yemeni official has denied “press leaks published in U.S. and Western media that exaggerate the size of Al-Qaeda and the danger that it poses to Yemen's stability and security,” according to Saba state news agency.
An unnamed U.S. counter-terrorism official had told AFP Wednesday that the United States was increasingly concerned about the threat posed by Al-Qaeda in Yemen and that it was moving to pile pressure on the militants.
He said Al-Qaeda affiliates had regrouped in Yemen and emerged as a “virulent” danger.
“They're not feeling the same kind of heat -- not yet, anyway -- as their friends in the tribal areas” of Pakistan, he said, adding that “everyone involved on our side understands that has to change.”
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