Washington, May 12 (IANS) The US has widened sanctions on Al Qaida's Yemen-based wing, restricting their travel, freezing assets and slapping arms embargo on them.

The sanctions are targeted at Qasim al-Raimi and Nayif al-Qahtani, both senior leaders of Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The group claimed responsibility on the failed airline bombing plot last Christmas on a Detroit-bound plane.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton approved the sanctions and the measures were published in the Federal Register Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

The group was designated as a terrorist outfit in January and sanctions against its top two leaders - Nasir al-Wahishi and Said al-Shihri - were put in place then.

Meanwhile, the State Department said Tuesday it was considering designating the Pakistani Taliban as a foreign terrorist group. The group is implicated in the botched Times Square car bombing attack early this month.

"We are considering the question of designating the Pakistani Taliban," Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.