Yemen political unrest impacting U.S. military, Pentagon says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Tuesday acknowledged that Yemen's political unrest was impacting its counter-terrorism capabilities but said it was still training some Yemeni forces and could still carry out operations inside the country against al Qaeda militants. "There's no question as a result of the political instability in Yemen that our counter-terrorism capabilities have been ... affected," Rear Admiral John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, told a news briefing. "As I stand here today, we continue to conduct some training. We continue to have the capability – unilaterally if need be – of conducting counter-terrorism operations inside Yemen." Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday the United States was closing its embassy in Yemen because of the unpredictable security situation in a country where Iran-backed rebels have seized control of the capital. The Pentagon declined to comment on the status of the embassy but said the U.S. military was ready to help evacuate embassy personnel, if asked by the State Department. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Sandra Maler)