( CNN ) -- Threats from al Qaeda operatives in Yemen increased in recent weeks and were a reason Yemen and the United States partnered in drone strikes and counterterrorism operations over the last several days , U.S. officials told CNN . `` There is an increased threat stream , '' said one senior U.S. official , who spoke on the condition of anonymity . CNN has learned the United States believes there is intelligence potentially indicating specific targets in Yemen , including the U.S. Embassy there . Other possible targets include Westerners , as kidnap victims , and Yemeni government and military installations . Although several officials stressed the U.S. Embassy in Yemen is a constant target for terrorists , one U.S. source familiar with the latest information said at least one threat against the embassy was disrupted recently . A separate U.S. official was not aware of a recent specific threat on that embassy . The rise in threats from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- known as AQAP -- continues , the sources said . The uptick is of particular interest to U.S. officials because it comes after a significant effort last year to disrupt a direct threat to the U.S. Embassy in Yemen , as well as other U.S. embassies , which led to several of them being closed around the world . Since the 2013 disruption and subsequent leaks to the news media about how AQAP communicates , the group has significantly cut back on its electronic communications , making it extremely difficult for authorities to track it , a separate U.S. official said . `` We have much less vision about what they are doing . We 're not totally blind , but we are not 20/20 . We 're not even anywhere near 20/20 , '' said the official . Sources emphasized the recent counterterrorism operation had been planned for weeks and was part of a broader effort to disrupt AQAP . At least 65 suspected terrorists were killed in assaults from both the ground and sky in southern Yemen this week . Many suspected al Qaeda militants , who survived the strikes in Abyan province , are fleeing toward Azzan in the south central part of the country , a town that could fall under the control of al Qaeda , according to a senior Yemeni government official . There is a lack of government and army presence in that area , that official said . The two military brigades currently in southern Shabwa province , which includes Azzan , `` ca n't try to follow those militants on the move and are preoccupied with securing the ( liquefied natural gas ) facilities , '' the official said . The official added that Yemeni authorities are on high alert and expecting `` imminent retaliatory attacks '' from AQAP . CNN 's Elise Labott and Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report .
`` There is an increased threat stream , '' says one senior U.S. official . At least 65 suspected al Qaeda members were killed in a Yemeni-U.S. joint operation . Yemeni authorities are on high alert , expecting `` imminent retaliatory attacks , '' an official says .