US issues travel alert, will close embassies due to al Qaeda threat - Fortune

[Diablo]

• Rep. Royce tells CNN's "New Day" that al Qaeda is behind an unspecified threat
• Embassies in Egypt, Israel and other Middle East countries will close Sunday
• A U.S. official calls the threats "credible and serious"

(CNN) -- Al Qaeda is linked to a terror threat that has prompted the State Department to close embassies in key Middle East nations, including Egypt and Israel, as a precaution beginning Sunday, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce told CNN's "New Day" on Friday.
"It's my understanding that it is al Qaeda-linked, all right, and the threat emanates in the Middle East and in Central Asia," said Royce, a California Republican who's chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Demonstrators set the U.S. Consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya, on fire on September 11, 2012. The U.S. ambassador and three other U.S. nationals were killed during the attack. The Obama administration initially blamed a mob inflamed by a U.S.-produced movie that mocked Islam and its Prophet Mohammed, but later said the storming of the consulate appears to have been a terrorist attack. View photos of protesters storming the U.S. Embassy buildings.

A desk inside the burnt U.S. Consulate building in Benghazi, Libya, on September 13, two days after the attack.

The damage inside the burnt U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on September 13.

A lounge chair and umbrella float in the swimming pool of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on September 13.

Demonstrators on September 12 gather in Libya to condemn the killers and voice support for the victims in the attack on the U.S. Consulate.

U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement about the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Rose Garden at the White House on September 12 in Washington.

A burnt vehicle is seen at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on September 12.

People inspect the damage at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on September 12.

A small American flag is seen in the rubble at the U.S. Consulate on September 12.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stand at Andrews Air Force Base as the bodies of the four Americans killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi are returned on September 14.

A man stands in part of the burned-out compound on September 12.

Smoke and fire damage is evident in this consulate building on September 12.

Half-burnt debris and ash cover the floor of one of the consulate buildings on September 12.

The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames on September 11.

A protester reacts as the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi burns on September 11.

A vehicle and the surrounding area are engulfed in flames after it was set on fire inside the compound on September 11.

Flames erupt outside of a building in the U.S. consulate compound on September 11.

A vehicle burns during the attack Tuesday on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on September 11.

Onlookers record the damage from the attack on September 11.

Onlookers walk past a burning truck and building in the compound on September 11.

A vehicle sits smoldering in flames on September 11.

People duck flames outside a consulate building on September 11.


Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

Photos: Attack on U.S. Consulate in Libya

Potential terror threat in Mideast

Central Asia cause of embassy threat

CNN Explains: The Benghazi attacks
On Thursday, a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly about the matter called the threat "credible and serious."
It was "directed at American targets overseas," but may not be confined to main diplomatic facilities, the official said.
In addition to Egypt and Israel, the State Department action includes diplomatic facilities in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iraq and Kuwait, according to the agency and Twitter postings.
A senior State Department official said that the agency has told those embassies to close Sunday, normally the beginning of the work week, and that additional days could be added.
Diplomatic facilities in the region are for the most part closed or operate with minimal staff on Fridays and Saturdays.
Separately, another U.S. official told CNN that the Obama administration is monitoring threats against the embassy in Sanaa, Yemen.
The official did not say whether the embassy would close.
President Barack Obama met with Yemeni President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi at the White House on Thursday. Yemen has been cracking down on al Qaeda.
A U.S. official earlier told CNN the embassy closures were because of "more than the usual chatter" about a potential terrorist threat, which was not specific about time and location.
Officials said the time frame comes with the approaching end of Ramadan and the first anniversary of the terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the agency was taking the steps at diplomatic sites out of an abundance of caution.
Read more: CNN found embassy attack suspect before FBI
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo noted on its website media reports of possible marches or demonstrations Friday and possibly throughout the weekend.