WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Intercepted communications in which al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri ordered the leader of the affiliate in Yemen to carry out an attack as early as last Sunday prompted the United States to close diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The intercepted conversations were between Zawahri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden as head of al Qaeda, and Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the head of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the newspaper said, citing American officials.

The Times said it had initially withheld the identities of the al Qaeda leaders at the request of senior U.S. intelligence officials, but reported them after the names were disclosed Sunday by McClatchy Newspapers.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria)

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  • Osama Bin Laden

    Al Qaeda's longtime leader <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/01/osama-bin-laden-dead-killed_n_856091.html" target="_hplink">was killed</a> in an American raid on his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 1, 2011. (AP Photo, File)

  • Ayman Al Zawahri

    Ayman al Zawahri became <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/29/5-most-wanted-al-qaida-leaders/" target="_hplink">al Qaeda's new leader</a> after the death of Osama bin Laden. He is believed to be hiding in Pakistan and regularly releases propaganda videos. (AP Photo/SITE Intel Group)

  • Abu Yahia Al Libi

    Abu Yahia al Libi was al Qaeda's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120429/us-al-qaida-top-5/" target="_hplink">de facto no. 2</a> after the death of Bin Laden. He escaped a high-security U.S. prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, in 2005. Al Libi <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/abu-yahia-al-libi-drone-strike_n_1569772.html" target="_hplink">was killed</a> in a drone strike in Pakistan in June 2012. (AP)

  • Nasser Al Wahishi

    Al Wahishi was once bin Laden's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120429/us-al-qaida-top-5/" target="_hplink">aide-de-camp</a> and now commands AQAP, an al Qaeda's affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula. (AFP/GettyImages)

  • Ibrahim Hassan Al Asiri

    Saudi Ibrahim Hassan al Asiri is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120429/us-al-qaida-top-5/" target="_hplink">believed to be responsible </a>for building the underwear bomb used to try to bring down a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas 2009, as well as the printer-cartridge bombs. (AP)

  • Said Al Masri

    Al Qaeda's no. 3 was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/31/al-qaeda-number-three-reported-killed_n_595561.html" target="_hplink">killed</a> in an American drone strike in May 2012. (Reuters TV)

  • Fazul Abdullah Mohammed

    Mohammed, who led the organization in Eastern Africa, was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/11/fazul-abdullah-mohammed-dead_n_875363.html" target="_hplink">killed</a> by the Somalian army in June 2011. (AP)

  • Abu Musab Al Zarqawi

    Al Qaeda's brutal leader in Iraq was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/19/two-top-al-qaeda-figures-_n_542653.html" target="_hplink">killed</a> in a U.S. airstrike in 2006. (AP Photo/U.S. Department of State, HO)

  • Saeed al-Shihri

    The Yemen-based branch of al-Qaida says a U.S. drone strike has killed a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who rose to become the group's No. 2 figure. The announcement, posted on militant websites, gave no date for the death of Saudi-born Al-Shihri. (AP Photo/SITE Intelligence Group, File)

  • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-trial_n_1489527.html" target="_hplink">self-described mastermind</a> of the attacks of 9/11, was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12964158" target="_hplink">captured in Pakistan in March 2003</a> and is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/FBI) <em><strong>CORRECTION:</strong> An earlier version of this slide misstated the date of Sheikh Mohammed's capture.</em>

  • Saif Al Adel

    Al Adel was Bin Laden's former <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120229/ml-egypt-arrest/" target="_hplink">security advisor</a>. He is still on the run. (Getty Images)

  • Adnan El Shukrijumah

    Adnan El Shukrijumah is reportedly responsible for al Qaeda's external operations. He <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/06/adnan-shukrijumah-new-al_n_673164.html" target="_hplink">lived in the U.S.</a> for more than 15 years. (FBI)

  • Atiyah Abd Al Rahman

    Al Rahman was al Qaeda's liaison for Iraq, Iran and Algeria until he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/27/atiyah-abd-al-rahman-al-qaeda-dead_n_939009.html" target="_hplink">was killed</a> on August 22, 2011 in Pakistan. (AP Photo/National Counterterrorism Center)

  • Fahd Al Quso

    Senior al Qaeda Operative, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/06/world/africa/yemen-airstrikes/index.html">Fahd al Quso</a>, was killed in a U.S. airstrike while riding a vehicle in the Rafdh district of the Yemeni province of Shabwa. The 37-year-old was long wanted for his role in the <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/uss-cole-attack-12-years-later_654341.html">USS Cole bombing</a> in 2000. (AP Photo/FBI, File)

  • Walid Bin Attash

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-trial_n_1489527.html">Walid Bin Attash</a>, Yemeni al Qaeda operative and alleged 9/11 conspirator, reportedly ran a training camp in Afghanistan and researched flight simulators and timetables. He is currently in U.S. custody and awaiting trial. (JANET HAMLIN/AFP/GettyImages)

  • Ramzi Binalshibh

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-trial_n_1489527.html">Ramzi Binalshibh</a>, also a 9/11 conspirator, was initially tapped to be a hijacker, but ended up providing assistance such as finding flight schools when he couldn't get a U.S. visa. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool)

  • Mustafa Ahmed Adam Al Hawsawi

    Saudi native and al Qaeda operative, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/saeed-al-shihri-dead_n_2545067.html">Mustafa Ahmed Adam Al Hawsawi</a>, has been accused of helping the hijackers with money, Western clothing, traveler's checks and credit cards. He is currently in U.S. custody at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool)

  • Ali Abd Al-Aziz Ali

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-trial_n_1489527.html">Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali</a>, a Pakistani national, allegedly provided money to the hijackers. He is also known as Ammar al Baluchi. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool)