An undisclosed number of U.S. embassies and consulates will be closed Aug. 4 as a “precautionary” step because of unspecified security concerns, a State Department official said yesterday.
“The Department of State has instructed certain U.S. embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations on Sunday,” said Marie Harf, a department spokeswoman. Harf didn’t say which facilities would be shut, how many or where they are. She didn’t describe the security issues.
A State Department official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the only embassies and consulates normally open on Sundays are affected. That would include facilities in predominantly Muslim countries, where work weeks generally run from Sunday through Thursday.
The State Department issued a similar warning of possible attacks on or about Sept. 11, 2012. Harf also pointed reporters to a February 2013 “Worldwide Caution” warning the department issued, telling Americans that “current information suggests that al-Qaeda, its affiliated organizations, and other terrorist organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions.”
The caution said that security threat levels remain high in Yemen and that Iraq is “dangerous and unpredictable.” It also said that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is active in Algeria, has attacked Westerners near the borders with Mali and Libya, and has claimed responsibility for kidnapping and killing of Westerners throughout the region.
The announcement came after terrorist groups in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan, some of them affiliated with al-Qaeda, freed hundreds of prisoners. Also, newly discovered 2011 papers suggest that the terrorist group considered taking hostages in an effort to stop strikes by unmanned U.S. aircraft.
Documents purportedly from al-Qaeda fighters in Mali and obtained by the Associated Press outline a strategy of kidnapping “in exchange for the drone strategy.”
Kidnappings would “bring back the pressure of the American public opinion in a more active way” against drones, according to the papers, which the New York-based news service translated from Arabic. The document is focused on Yemen.
In Pakistan, where such U.S. strikes have been an irritant to relations, Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that drone attacks may end soon.
“I think the program will end, as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it,” Kerry said in an interview broadcast by the PTV network in Pakistan.
“I think the president has a very real timeline, and we hope it’s going to be very, very soon,” Kerry said.
In London, the U.K. Foreign Office said it will review safety at its embassies after the U.S. announcement, according to the Telegraph newspaper.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Gaouette in Washington at [email protected].
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]Secretary of State John Kerry[/h]
Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images
In Pakistan, where U.S. strikes have been an irritant to relations, Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that drone attacks may end soon.
In Pakistan, where U.S. strikes have been an irritant to relations, Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that drone attacks may end soon. Photographer: Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images
“The Department of State has instructed certain U.S. embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations on Sunday,” said Marie Harf, a department spokeswoman. Harf didn’t say which facilities would be shut, how many or where they are. She didn’t describe the security issues.
A State Department official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the only embassies and consulates normally open on Sundays are affected. That would include facilities in predominantly Muslim countries, where work weeks generally run from Sunday through Thursday.
The State Department issued a similar warning of possible attacks on or about Sept. 11, 2012. Harf also pointed reporters to a February 2013 “Worldwide Caution” warning the department issued, telling Americans that “current information suggests that al-Qaeda, its affiliated organizations, and other terrorist organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions.”
The caution said that security threat levels remain high in Yemen and that Iraq is “dangerous and unpredictable.” It also said that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is active in Algeria, has attacked Westerners near the borders with Mali and Libya, and has claimed responsibility for kidnapping and killing of Westerners throughout the region.
The announcement came after terrorist groups in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan, some of them affiliated with al-Qaeda, freed hundreds of prisoners. Also, newly discovered 2011 papers suggest that the terrorist group considered taking hostages in an effort to stop strikes by unmanned U.S. aircraft.
Documents purportedly from al-Qaeda fighters in Mali and obtained by the Associated Press outline a strategy of kidnapping “in exchange for the drone strategy.”
Kidnappings would “bring back the pressure of the American public opinion in a more active way” against drones, according to the papers, which the New York-based news service translated from Arabic. The document is focused on Yemen.
In Pakistan, where such U.S. strikes have been an irritant to relations, Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that drone attacks may end soon.
“I think the program will end, as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it,” Kerry said in an interview broadcast by the PTV network in Pakistan.
“I think the president has a very real timeline, and we hope it’s going to be very, very soon,” Kerry said.
In London, the U.K. Foreign Office said it will review safety at its embassies after the U.S. announcement, according to the Telegraph newspaper.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Gaouette in Washington at [email protected].
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]Secretary of State John Kerry[/h]
In Pakistan, where U.S. strikes have been an irritant to relations, Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that drone attacks may end soon.
In Pakistan, where U.S. strikes have been an irritant to relations, Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that drone attacks may end soon. Photographer: Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images