President Barrack Obama
By Festus Akanbi
Amid warnings over a fresh planned attack on Western targets, United States officials in Washington and diplomats in US postings around the world were on high alert at the weekend, leading to the closure of 22 embassies and travel alert to American citizens in the Arabian Peninsula.
The British Broadcasting Corporation reported Saturday that the United States is not the only one worried by the latest threat to peace. The United Kingdom, French, and German embassies in Yemen will also be shut Sunday and Monday.
The uneasiness was coming on the heels of warnings that fresh intelligence points to Yemen-based al-Qaida being on the final stages of planning an attack on Western targets.
The warning is specifically tied to Yemen.
According to a report by Associated Press, President Barack Obama’s counterterrorism adviser updated him on the potential al-Qaida threat before he left Saturday for a round of golf in Maryland to kick off his 52nd birthday celebration last weekend, officials said.
An attack last year on a US diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11 killed the ambassador and three other Americans.
“There is a significant threat stream, and we’re reacting to it,” said Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He told ABC in an interview to be aired today that the threat was “more specific” than previous ones and the “intent is to attack Western, not just US interests.”
The warning said al-Qaida or its allies might target either US government or private American interests. The alert expires on August 31.
The New York Times reported Friday night that American officials said the US had intercepted electronic communications among senior operatives of al-Qaida.
The State Department said the potential for terrorism was particularly acute in the Middle East and North Africa, with a possible attack occurring on or coming from the Arabian Peninsula.
US officials pointed specifically to Yemen, the home of al-Qaida’s most dangerous offshoot and the network blamed for several notable terrorist plots on the United States.
“Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August,” a department statement said.
Britain, Germany and France also announced their embassies in Yemen would be closed Sunday and Monday. British authorities said some embassy staff in Yemen had been withdrawn “due to security concerns.”
Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird said on Friday there were no plans to close any Canadian missions in the region. But he did urge diplomats and Canadian travellers in the region to exercise added caution.
Interpol, meanwhile, issued a global security alert Saturday in connection with suspected al-Qaida involvement in several recent prison escapes including those in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan. The alert calls on Interpol’s 190 member countries to help determine whether these events are co-ordinated or linked. The Lyon, France-based international police agency said it issues such alerts fairly regularly.
The State Department urged U.S. travellers to take extra precautions overseas, citing potential dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists. It noted that previous terrorist attacks have centred on subway and rail networks as well as airplanes and boats.
The alert was posted a day after the U.S. announced it would shut many diplomatic facilities Sunday.
Spokeswoman Marie Harf said some missions may stay closed for longer than a day.
Sunday is a business day in Muslim countries, and the diplomatic offices affected stretch from Mauritania in northwest Africa to Afghanistan.
Although the warning coincided with “Al-Quds Day,” the last Friday of the Islamic month of Ramadan when people in Iran and some Arab countries express their solidarity with the Palestinians and their opposition to Israel, U.S. officials played down any connection.
They said the threat wasn’t directed toward a specific U.S. diplomatic facility.
The concern by American officials over the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is not new, given the terror branch’s gains in territory and reach during Yemen’s prolonged Arab Spring-related instability.
The group made significant territorial gains last year, capturing towns and cities in the south amid a power struggle in the capital that ended with the resignation of Yemen’s long-time leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh. A U.S.-aided counteroffensive by the government has since pushed the militants back.
Yemen’s current president, Abdo Rabby Mansour Hadi, met with Obama at the White House on Thursday, where both leaders cited strong counterterrorism co-operation.
Earlier this week, Yemen’s military reported a U.S. drone strike killed six alleged al-Qaida militants in the group’s southern strongholds.
ThisDay
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