US Embassies to Shut Down Sunday Due to Terror Threat

14 diplomatic posts across Mideast and Asia, including Israel, to close for the day because of al-Qaeda-related warnings

Times of Israel
August 3, 2013

US_embassy_Tel_Aviv_6924-e1375394491859-635x357

The US has been “apprised of information that out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may be visiting our installations, that indicates we should institute these precautionary steps,” said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.

Harf cited information indicating a threat to US facilities overseas and said some diplomatic facilities may stay closed for more than a day. Other US officials said the threat was in the Muslim world, where Sunday is a workday.

Diplomatic posts in Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan are among those that will be shut for at least one day, according to an NBC News report.

Harf added that the closures may be extended, “depending on our analysis.”

Messages alerting US citizens of the closures went out in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, according to the report.

Read More