Washington - The US government on Thursday advised Americans to avoid travelling to Yemen following the deadliest attack on a US embassy in more than 10 years.

The US State Department also authorized non-essential staff and their families to depart Yemen and said the security threat remains high because of terrorist activities.

Al-Qaeda is believed to be behind the attack on the embassy in Sana'a that left 16 people dead, including six militants.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack confirmed Thursday that a US woman, 18-year-old Susan Elbaneh, was among those killed outside the embassy ground.

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Washington, Sept. 18 : A key economic adviser of the John McCain campaign, Carly Fiorina, has disappeared from public view after she questioned whether McCain and his running-mate, Sarah Palin, were capable of leading a large US corporation.

Fiorina, who was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, made her remarks in a radio interview.

Yesterday, her planned television appearances were abruptly cancelled.

Sana'a, Yemen  - A suspected al-Qaeda attack on the US embassy in Yemen on Wednesday left 16 people dead, including six policeman and six of the terrorists, authorities said.

The al-Qaeda militants attacked the embassy compound in the capital Sana'a using two car bombs, automatic weapons and one was wearing an explosive belt, Yemeni authorities said. The attackers were unable to penetrate the embassy wall.

A local security guard and three bystanders, including an Indian woman, were also killed, Yemeni authorities said.

Sana'a, Yemen - Sixteen people, including six policemen and six al-Qaeda militants, were killed in a car-bomb attack outside the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Wednesday, officials said.

Interior Ministry sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that all six attackers, including one wearing an explosive belt, were killed. A local security guard and three bystanders, including an Indian woman, were also killed.

An Interior Ministry statement said two cars loaded with explosives were used in the attack.

"Security guards managed to explode the two vehicles away from the embassy building," said the statement, carried by the official Saba news agency.

Berlin - Germany sharply condemned on Wednesday the car-bomb attack that killed at least 16 people in Yemen.