[The USS Cole was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden last October when a small harbor skiff pulled alongside it and detonated explosives, killing 17 sailors, injuring 39 others and nearly sinking the ship. Read photo caption below].


WASHINGTON (AP) - FBI agents investigating the October bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen were pulled out of the country because of a security threat, FBI and State Department officials said Monday.
``There was a specific and credible threat that called for removal from the country,'' FBI spokesman Bill Carter said. The team left Sunday.
The investigators were relocated to a neighboring country, Carter said. He would not disclose the nature of the threats in Yemen, how many agents were removed or where the team was taken.
President Bush, speaking to reporters before meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell, refused to talk about the incident. ``Once we finish our investigation, our government would be willing to discuss that,'' he said.
The move follows a June 9 State Department warning of an increased threat of terrorism against Americans and U.S. interests in Yemen. The department authorized non-emergency embassy staff and their families to leave the country and urged Americans to postpone trips to Yemen.
``This increased threat in Yemen is, obviously, of concern to us in terms of our official personnel, but also in terms of traveling Americans and others,'' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
The U.S. embassy in Yemen is closed to the public, but diplomats there continue to do their jobs, Boucher said. An administration official said there was ``no specific credible threat against the embassy,'' only against FBI investigators in the country.
``The FBI made a decision to leave Yemen, based on what they saw as a credible threat to their employees,'' Boucher said.
Yemen Interior Minister Rashad al-Eleimi met with U.S. Ambassador Barbara Bodine on Monday and discussed security cooperation between the two countries, security officials said.
Security has been tightened in the area of the U.S. embassy in San`a and patrols and checkpoints were seen Monday in streets close to the embassy.
The USS Cole was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden last October when a small harbor skiff pulled alongside it and detonated explosives, killing 17 sailors, injuring 39 others and nearly sinking the ship.
Boucher and Carter both declined to comment on reports that members of a group planning an attack on the embassy had been arrested.
Meanwhile, security measures in Yemen have been beefed up, Boucher said.
``In light of the heightened threat, the government of Yemen has taken extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of our personnel,'' Boucher said. ``The department has sent additional diplomatic security personnel to help the embassy and to ensure that all personnel receive appropriate protection.''
An office set up in Aden to investigate the bombing was shut recently and its U.S. investigators moved to the U.S. embassy in San`a. An embassy official has said the closure was not related to new security concerns.
Over 30 people have been detained in connection with the bombing attack.
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PHOTO CAPTION

The State Department warned Americans against travel to Yemen June 6, 2001, citing, among other incidents, the suicide bombing in Aden harbor last October that killed 17 sailors on the USS Cole warship. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps security personnel patrol October 18, 2000 past the damaged U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole following the October 12, 2000 terrorist bombing attack on the ship in Aden, Yemen. (Lyle G. Becker/Reuters)
- Jun 09 5:58 PM ET
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