Washington closes 22 diplomatic missions across the Muslim world

Security was tight at US missions around the Arab world on Sunday as Washington held urgent talks on an al-Qaida threat that prompted it to close 22 embassies and consulates.

Measures were particularly strict in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, where Britain, France and Germany all closed their embassies after a US warning that lawmakers in Washington said involved al-Qaida's Yemen and Saudi Arabia branch.

But the US alert spread across most Arab capitals and extended beyond the Arab world to Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and saw embassies closed on Sunday, the first day of the working week in many Islamic countries.

In Sanaa, special forces with armored personnel carriers were stationed outside the US embassy and the missions of Britain, France and Germany.

Police and army checkpoints were set up on all the city's main thoroughfares.

Residents said they heard the sound of a drone flying overhead, which could only be American as Washington is the only power that operates the unmanned aircraft in the region.

In Jordan, authorities beefed up security around the closed US mission.

"Authorities have conducted a sweep for explosives at all US diplomatic locations and beefed up security measures around the US embassy," a Jordanian security official said.

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice chaired White House talks to review Washington's response to the threat it revealed on Friday of a major al-Qaida attack in August.

Also attending were US Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, as well as the heads of the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency, the White House said.

US President Barack Obama did not attend but was briefed afterwards.

"Early this week, the president instructed his national security team to take all appropriate steps to protect the American people in light of a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," a White House statement said.

On Friday, Washington issued a worldwide travel warning, citing unspecified plans by al-Qaida to strike US interests in the Middle East or North Africa in August.

The White House meeting was held as Interpol issued a global security alert after hundreds of militants were set free in jailbreaks linked to al-Qaida.

The worldwide police agency said it suspected al-Qaida was involved in jailbreaks across nine countries, notably Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

It said the breakouts had "led to the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals" in the past month alone.

Interpol noted that this week marks the 15th anniversary of al-Qaida's bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands.

August also marks the anniversaries of attacks in India, Russia and Indonesia.

US General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC News that the threats were directed at Western interests, and were "more specific" than previous threats.

While an exact target was unknown, "the intent seems clear. The intent is to attack Western, not just US, interests," Dempsey said.

The State Department issued a worldwide travel alert to US citizens, warning of the "potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure."

And the Foreign Office in London continued to urge Britons to leave Yemen. "Terrorists continue to threaten further attacks," it warned.

Hours after the US alert was issued, an audio recording was posted on militant Islamist forums in which al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri accused the United States of "plotting" with Egypt's military, secularists and Christians to overthrow the country's now-deposed Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi.

In his first public comment on the July 3 military coup, the Egyptian-born Zawahiri said: "Crusaders and secularists and the Americanized army have converged ... with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohammed Morsi's government."

The United States has been especially cautious about security since an attack on its consulate in Libya's second city, Benghazi, on Sept 11 last year.

The assault, blamed on Islamist militants, killed four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens.

Washington considers al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to be the jihadist network's most active and dangerous branch.

It has waged an intensifying drone war against the group's militants in Yemen that saw three deadly strikes in the five days to Thursday.

(China Daily 08/05/2013 page12)