US Embassy Security Closures Extended
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The US is extending the closure of some of its embassies in the Middle East and Africa through to August 10 over security fears.
The State Department said a small number of additional posts would also be closed, while certain others would reopen on Monday.
The Obama administration announced on Friday that 22 posts would be closed over the weekend, SkyNews reported.
The State Department also announced a global travel alert, warning that al Qaeda or its allies might target either US government or private American interests.
On the extension, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement: "This is not an indication of a new threat stream, merely an indication of our commitment to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect our employees including local employees and visitors to our facilities."
It said diplomatic posts in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antanarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali, and Port Louis would be closed from Monday through to Saturday.
Those reopening for normal operations on Monday include Dhaka, Algiers, Nouakchott, Kabul, Herat, Mazar el Sharif, Baghdad, Basrah, and Erbil.
The extension came as security forces closed roads, put up extra blast walls and increased patrols on Sunday near some of the 22 diplomatic missions ordered to close.
In recent days, US officials have said they have received significant and detailed intelligence suggesting a possible attack, with some clues pointing to the al Qaeda terror network.
