US Marines sent to secure Embassy in Yemen

WASHINGTON - A US Marine antiterrorism security team has arrived in Yemen to help with security at the US Embassy in the wake of violent protests, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said on Friday.

US Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta  authorized this Marine rapid response team, called FAST team, consisting of about 50 Marines, to bolster security at US diplomatic installations in the past two days.

Another team was sent to Libya on Wednesday following the deadly attack in which US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, a State Department officer and two former members of the Navy SEALs, died after hundreds of protesters broke into and set ablaze the US consulate building in Benghazi.

Little said the FAST platoon was dispatched partly in response to events over the past two days at the US embassy in Yemen, but also in part a precautionary measure.

Anti-American protests and demonstrations have spread across a dozen of countries since earlier this week, including Egypt and several other countries in the Middle East. Little said no other such teams had been sent to Cairo or other capitals in the Middle East where protests occurred.

About ongoing protests in Cairo at the US Embassy, Little said "the situation hasn't to this point necessitated a change in security posture."

He also noted the Pentagon has not seen "outburst of violence against our diplomatic installations or military bases in Afghanistan."