LONDON  Fox News can confirm heightened interest in Washington circles to the relatively new terror outfit in Yemen,  Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula

The Washington Post quotes a CIA official saying the  Militants there are even a “more potent threat” than their “brothers” in Pakistan and Afghanistan

A US government official tells Fox’s Catherine Herridge the group is “…no doubt a mortal threat…we can’t afford to ignore people working to attack us…”

One of the best-known of those people is US-born radical cleric Anwar al- Awlaki.  He isnow back Yemen where we (and the US!) have been tracking him.

He is linked to several recent US terror attacks including the failed Time Square bombing, last year’s attempted Christmas Day plane bombing, and the deadly Fort Hood shooting.

We can confirm the US is actively involved in training anti-terror forces in Yemen, supplying the government with intelligence and coordination, and even, reportedly, drone and cruise missile attacks on terror targets.

Reports now say these operations will “ramp up” in the coming months.

The latest news is that Yemen forces have been clashing with  Al Qaeda in the southern Abyan province, a base of militant activity. We are told 19 suspected terrorists have been killed including foreigners.

And we can also report a key “interlocutor” for suspected terrorist Awlaki is now under arrest by Yemeni authorities for “statements about Al Qaeda.”  We met with Abdul Elah Hider Shaea in April in Yemen.    At that time he told us he was  “…proud to be a mediator between the world and the person the world is interested in.”

That “interest” in Awlaki and his Al Qaeda group appears to be increasing.  In the words of our Yemeni contact, “…the noose is tightening.”