WASHINGTON, Dec 31: US consular officials have joined Yemeni authorities interrogating the man who allegedly killed three Americans and wounded another in the small provincial town of Jibla.

A team of US security officials has also gone Jibla to see if the town is still safe for American citizens.

At a briefing here on Monday, State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker said there were about 30,000 Americans in Yemen but he did not know how many of them lived in Jibla.

“We’ll be working closely with Yemeni authorities to fully investigate this murderous attack,” said Reeker.

“The Yemeni authorities have arrested ... and investigated a suspect. And with our consular officials that travelled from the embassy in Sana’a down to Jibla,” he added. “We also had security officials that would go and try to look into the security situation for the other America citizens who are there.”

Although a US ally in the “war against terrorism”, American officials have been increasingly accusing Yemen of harbouring Al Qaeda and other militant groups operating in the Middle East.

In Oct 2000, guerillas attacked the USS Cole at a Yemeni harbour, killing 17 soldiers.

Following the Sept 11 attacks Yemen has increased security cooperation with Washington, allowing US forces to carry out search-and-seek operations inside the country.