Having shut down 22 of its embassies and consulates, mostly in the Middle East and North Africa, the United States held a high-level review of the new threat from Al Qaeda, heightened by the suspected escape of many Qaeda elements in recent prison breaks in Iraq, libya and Pakistan.
The overwhelming focus, however, was on Yemen, where the US threat perception has prompted Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands as well to close their missions in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
Close on the heels of the US warning, Interpol has issued its own global security alert on possibly heightened terrorist activity in the wake of prison escapes Iraq, libya, Pakistan and six other countries over the past month.
With suspected Al Qaeda involvement in several of the prison breaks that resulted in the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals, the France-based Interpol has asked its 190 member countries to assist in determining if prison incidents are coordinated.
“In recent years, terrorist attacks focusing on diplomatic facilities in Afghanistan, Greece, India, Kenya, libya, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey and Yemen have also resulted in hundreds of casualties of all nationalities,” the Interpol said.
At the White House, National Security Adviser Susan Rice chaired a meeting to review the situation and follow-up actions. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and heads of national intelligence, CIA and FBI attended the meeting.
President Barack Obama has been continuously briefed on developments following intelligence reports of “a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula”.
Curiously enough, Yemen’s President Abdo Rabby Mansour Hadi had met with President Obama at the White House on Thursday — the day when Washington decided on its Sunday closure of missions and was working on its global travel warning.
While the shutdown of US missions was just for a day on Sunday, the State Department has indicated that it could be extended depending on an official assessment of the threat perceptions. The department’s global security warning to American travellers is valid for the whole of August.
US military chief General Martin Dempsey told ABC News that the threats were directed at Western interests, and were “more specific” than on previous occasions. While the precise intended target was unknown, the intent seemed clear, he said, adding: “The intent is to attack Western, not just US, interests.”
CBS News reported that intelligence officials had information about a major plot. “Intelligence officers have reporting from a reliable source that a major plot is under way and that the team to carry it out has been selected and is in place,” the network reported, but noting that the US authorities did not know the date, the timing or the target of the planned attack. In its travel alert, the State Department warned of the “potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure”.