US issues global travel alert, cites potential al-Qaeda threat

     
The United States issued a worldwide travel alert on Friday, warning U.S. citizens about the "continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa."

In a statement, the State Department said current information suggests al-Qaeda and its affiliates continue to plan terrorist attacks in the Middle East and beyond, and may concentrate those efforts in August.

This comes as the chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said a threat that has prompted the closing of several U.S. embassies this weekend appears to be linked to al Qaeda.
  
"It's my understanding that it is al-Qaeda linked ... and the threat emanates in the Middle East and in Central Asia," Representative Ed Royce said on CNN's "New Day" program.
 
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department said that U.S. embassies that would normally be open this Sunday - including those in Abu Dhabi, Baghdad and Cairo - will be closed that day because of unspecified security concerns.         

CBS News reported that the embassy closings were tied to  U.S. intelligence about an al Qaeda plot against U.S. diplomatic posts in the Middle East and other Muslim countries. CBS said the intelligence did not mention a specific location.                

"The Department of State has instructed certain U.S. embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations on Sunday, August 4th," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters at her daily briefing. "Security considerations have led us to take this precautionary step."
         
Harf declined to detail the "security considerations" or name the embassies and consulates that would be closed, but a senior State Department official told reporters later they were those that would normally have been open on Sunday.           

A quick search of the State Department website showed that those included several U.S. missions in the Muslim world, including the embassies in Abu Dhabi, Baghdad and Cairo.                

CBS News said U.S. embassies would also be closed in Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.            

"The department has been apprised of information that, out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may be visiting our installations ... indicates we should institute these precautionary steps," Harf said. "The department, when conditions warrant, takes steps like this to balance our continued operations with security and safety."                  


REUTERS