US plane suspect spent months in Yemen

The authorities in Yemen have confirmed that the man charged with trying to blow up a US plane on Christmas Day was in the Yemeni capital Sanaa until early this month.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has reportedly said al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen had supplied him with the bomb and that there were others like him who would strike soon.

A Yemeni government spokesperson says the 23-year-old Nigerian was in Sanaa from the beginning of August on a visa to study Arabic.

A Yemen-based branch of the network has claimed it planned the failed attack on the Detroit-bound jet on Christmas Day.

Meanwhile, Yemen's foreign minister has told the BBC his government is not getting enough support from the West to tackle al-Qaeda.

Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said several hundred al-Qaeda members were estimated to be operating in Yemen and could be planning more attacks.

Yemen had the will and ability to deal with al-Qaeda, he said, but was undermined by a lack of support.