Terror warnings shows global reach of U.S. security fears
Terror warnings shows global reach of U.S. security fears
Agencies Washington/London/Kuala Lumpur
U.S. authorities have issued a spate of alerts in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Afghanistan, and warned that al-Qaeda may be plotting to use cargo planes to target power plants in the United States.
The alerts, though unrelated, map a grim constellation of U.S. security fears and the variety of potential threats to the world's sole superpower.
Washington on Friday closed its embassy and two consulates in Saudi Arabia, saying it had credible information that terrorists were in the operational phase of planned attacks in the kingdom.
An embassy advisory told U.S. nationals that the closure would affect all U.S. missions around the kingdom on Saturday, but an embassy spokesperson said a "security review" might last longer.
"In light of the seriousness of the current threat, the embassy in Riyadh and the U.S. consulates general in Jeddah and Dhahran will close on Saturday, Nov. 8, to review their current security posture," the advisory said.
Surprisingly, suspected al-Qaeda suicide bombers devastated a Riyadh residential compound of foreigners mostly from Arab states on Sunday, killing between 20 and 30 people and injuring up to 100, diplomats said.
The British embassy in Bahrain on Saturday warned its citizens in the Gulf state that there was a "high threat" of terrorist attacks against western targets in the country.
A statement published on the embassy website warned British citizens to remain vigilant in public places and to review security arrangements.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the State Department issued a public announcement about the safety of U.S. citizens in Malaysia, warning they could fall prey to Southeast Asian terror groups.
The announcement urged extra caution to U.S. citizens in the troubled eastern Malaysia state of Sabah on Borneo Island, near where the radical Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf group kidnapped a group of foreign tourists in 2000.
The warning also noted the threat to Americans in the region from the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group, which was blamed for the nightclub bombings last year in Bali, Indonesia, and other attacks on western targets.
"Extremist groups in the region have demonstrated their capability to carry out transnational attacks in locations where Westerners congregate.
Malaysia responded angrily to the safety warning, saying security nationwide is adequate and ruling out fears the announcement would hurt Malaysia's tourist industry.
Malaysian Minister of Defense Najib Razak said the U.S. State Department was wrong to issue the new travel advisory because the situation was safe for foreign tourists.
"It is not for the U.S. State Department to issue the advisory to its citizens which can effect our image to the world especially to foreign tourists".
"Malaysia has taken serious efforts to contain militant activities and this has been proven with our action against groups such as the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI)," he was quoted as saying by the Sunday Star newspaper.
Separately, the U.S. State Department warned that remnants of the Taliban plan to abduct American journalists in Afghanistan and use them to demand release of Taliban prisoners held by the United States.
"The United States embassy in Kabul has received credible information that Taliban forces are actively searching for American journalists to take hostage for use as leverage for the release of Taliban currently under United States control," a State Department notice said.
"American journalists in Afghanistan are urged to take immediate steps to increase their security posture in light of these threats," the embassy said in a notice.
Closer to home, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI late on Friday warned that al-Qaeda operatives may be planning to hijack cargo jets in Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean and use them to attack power plants and other critical infrastructure in the United States.
The alert was based on uncorroborated information from a single informant, according to U.S. media reports. But authorities deemed it serious enough to issue the warning.
U.S. authorities were also preparing to send a similar alert to Saudi Arabia, warning that cargo planes could be used as weapons against targets there, CNN reported.