SAN`A, Yemen - A suspected member of al-Qaida has turned himself in to the authorities and confessed to planning terror attacks against Western embassies in the Yemeni capital, security officials said today.

The man, identified only as a 30-year-old Yemeni extremist, has told his interrogators he belonged to a cell of the al-Qaida terror group and he planned to carry out a suicide attack on the U.N. offices in San'a last week, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The militant surrendered last week to the Yemeni intelligence department in San'a, the officials said. They did not say why he turned himself in.

After his surrender, police searched his house and confiscated weapons and explosives, the officials said.

The authorities also increased security outside the U.N. building as the militant said that he and fellow cell members had noticed it was not well protected. Soldiers now patrol the three-story villa around the clock.

The officials said the militant also confessed that he and five others, including Saudis, had planned to attack Western embassies, including the American and British embassies. The officials did not provide further details.

On Monday, 11 suspected members of the al-Qaida terror network went on trial on charges of planning attacks in Yemen and other countries.

Yemen, the ancestral home of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, has long been a haven for Islamic extremists. In recent years it has been the scene of numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2000 bombing of the destroyer USS Cole that killed 17 American sailors.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Yemen's government joined the American-led war on terror and cracked down on militants.