The arrests were made after foreign intelligence agencies provided lists of names of people they wanted detained or put under surveillance, the two security officials said.

They would not discuss details about most of those targeted — a group that also included Frenchmen, Africans and Asians — or specify how many they were.

The two Yemeni security officials said some of the recently detained foreigners are believed to be linked to the Nigerian man suspected of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner in December. US investigators say the Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has told them he was trained and instructed in the plot by Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

The detained Australian woman moved to Yemen with her two children in 2006 after converting to Islam, her Yemeni lawyer said.

He identified her as 30-year-old Shyloh Giddins and said she was arrested May 15. The lawyer, Abdel-Rahman Berman, said he was not allowed to discuss details of the investigation, but said she has not been charged.

According to Australian government documents obtained from the lawyer, Giddins' Australian passport was canceled in April because the intelligence service there believes she is a security threat.

After arriving in Yemen, she studied Arabic and Islam and taught English in private institutes, her lawyer said.

Canberra on Thursday urged Yemen to fly home the children, as her lawyer said the youngsters had been locked in their apartment alone. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the Middle East country should return the passports of Giddens' children and let them leave.

"We believe the best outcome is for the children to be given their passports and for them to return to Australia and we're urging that of the Yemeni authorities," Smith told Sky News.