WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he has no intention of sending American troops to Yemen or Somalia.
Obama tells People magazine that he still believes the center of al-Qaida activity is along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Terrorism concerns are rising in Yemen, at the bottom of the Arabian peninsula, and in Somalia, critically located along key global shipping routes to Mideast oil fields. U.S. officials say they believe the suspect in the Detroit airliner attack received al-Qaida training in Yemen.
Obama said in the interview conducted Friday that he doesn’t rule out any possibilities. Still, he says that for countries like Yemen and Somalia, he believes working with international partners is most effective for now.