Yemen's police forces arrested three Al Qaeda suspects, including a Syrian national, at an airport in the country's western port city of al-Hodayda late on Wednesday, a security official said.

The three men were arrested upon their arrival at the airport of the Red Sea city of al-Hodayda, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity, adding that they were flying from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

The arrest took place after the police received an intelligence tip-off, the official said, noting that security measures have been tightened around the country's airports.

Backed by the United States, the Yemeni transitional government has been strengthening its anti-terror campaign since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February after a year of political upheaval where Al Qaeda branch captured several cities in the lawless parts of the country.

The militants were recently either captured or hunted by the security authorities after a US-backed offensive in June, which routed the militants out of their strongholds in the southern province of Abyan.

Combating Al Qaeda network is one of the challenges confronting Hadi, who has promised to reform the army, restore security and uproot the resurgent branch of Al Qaeda, locally known as Ansar al- Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law).