Western missions in Yemen on alert as army advances against Qaeda

ADEN Yemen (Reuters) - Western diplomatic missions in Yemen heightened security measures on Thursday after increasingly bold attacks on foreigners by al Qaeda even as its militants have lost ground to an army offensive in the country's largely lawless south.

The government's offensive is the most concerted campaign against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - seen by Washington as one of the group's most lethal wings - in nearly two years. The group has been blamed for deadly attacks against security forces, foreigners and oil and gas facilities.