August 2nd 2013 Breaking news Terror Threat ~ U S embassies closed Worldwide travel alert
An al Qaeda plot is linked to an announcement by the State Department
that it was closing several consulates and embassies around the world on
Sunday due to a security threat, CBS News has learned.
CBS News
correspondent David Martin reports that U.S. intelligence has picked up
signs of an al Qaeda plot against American diplomatic posts in the
Middle East and other Muslim countries. The intelligence does not
mention a specific location, which is why all embassies that would
normally be open on Sunday have been ordered to close. That includes
embassies and consulates in the Middle East, North Africa, and South
Asia, where Sunday is the start of the work week.
Martin further
reported that officials say this appears to be a real plot in the making
and not just the normal chatter among terrorists talking about attacks
they'd like to carry out. But these same officials add they are missing
key pieces of information.
As of 7:00 a.m. ET Friday, at least 17
embassies have announced that they will close on Sunday in accordance
with the State Department's guidance, including the U.S. embassies in
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Mauritania, Sudan and Djibouti. A statement on the website of the
embassy in Kuwait explained, "The Department of State has instructed
certain U.S. Embassies and Consulates to remain closed or to suspend
operations on Sunday, August 4...Accordingly, the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait
will be closed on Sunday, August 4."
In the meantime, the
statement continued, "All U.S. citizen services appointments and visa
appointments have been cancelled and have been rescheduled on an
individual basis."
Earlier, Marie Harf, the deputy spokeswoman
for the State Department, told reporters that the step was taken as a
"precautionary" measure. She did not provide further specifics on the
nature of the threat or which embassies would be forced to shutter for
the day.
"The Department of State has instructed certain U.S.
embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations on
Sunday, August 4th," she said, explaining that the decision was made
"out of an abundance of caution."
She said that is is "possible"
some facilities would remain closed for more than a day, depending on
the results of a security analysis.
A senior State Department
official told CBS News: "For those who asked about which embassies and
consulates we have instructed to suspend operations on August 4th, the
answer is that we have instructed all U.S. Embassies and Consulates that
would have normally been open on Sunday to suspend operations,
specifically on August 4th. It is possible we may have additional days
of closing as well." The official added: "The Department, when
conditions warrant, takes steps like this to balance our continued
operations with security and safety."
Harf declined to say from
which region of the world the threat had emanated, saying only that
"security considerations have led us to take this precautionary step, as
we do from time to time."
The State Department will provide
further details soon, Harf said. Kerry sets 9-month goal for Mideast
peace talks Congress interviewing "dozens" of Benghazi witnesses
The
security of American embassies and other diplomatic facilities has
recently emerged as a political flashpoint in the wake of the September
11, 2012 attack on a U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the
lives of four Americans, including then-ambassador to Libya Chris
Stevens.
In the wake of that attack, Republicans accused the
State Department of providing insufficient security for diplomatic
personnel in Libya.
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