Yemeni security authorities on Saturday closed U.S. delivery companies FedEx and UPS in the capital of Sanaa, the country's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The closure was based on a search warrant by Yemeni public prosecution for lawful reasons, it said.

Meanwhile, UPS and FedEx said they were halting shipments from Yemen, according to U.S. media.

On Friday, a security official told Xinhua that initial investigation showed that the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was behind the suspected packages found on the flights from Yemen to the United States.

"The suspicious packages which travelled from Yemen to the U.S. were sent by suspicious senders whose addresses were fake," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Also on Friday, three Yemeni intelligence officials told Xinhua that they were checking the information about all packages sent from Yemen and were waiting for specific details including addresses from their U.S. counterparts on the confiscated suspicious packages.

With an intelligence help by the United States, Yemen has beefed up security campaign including air raids on al-Qaida wing since the Yemen-based wing claimed credit for a December botched attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger plane.