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| Sunday, 9 November 2003 |
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US sees imminent attacks in Saudi, shuts embassy RIYADH, Saturday (Reuters) The United States said on Friday that guerrillas were close to carrying out attacks in Saudi Arabia and that U.S. diplomatic missions in the Gulf Arab state would close on Saturday to review the security situation. The warning by the U.S. embassy follows Saudi security raids earlier this week in which three militants suspected of links to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network were killed. Bin Laden, in an audio tape last month, had vowed more suicide attacks inside and outside the United States. "The embassy continues to receive credible information that terrorists in Saudi Arabia have moved from the planning to operational phase of planned attacks in the kingdom," said the advisory without giving details. "In light of the seriousness of the current threat, the embassy in Riyadh and the U.S. consulates general in Jeddah and Dhahran will close on Saturday, November 8, to review their current security posture," it said without specifying when the missions would reopen or when the review would be concluded. The embassy, which was closed for the Muslim weekend on Friday, urged the 40,000 Americans in the kingdom to be vigilant when in areas perceived to be American or Western. British diplomats told Reuters that the British embassy did not plan to close. Britain last month dramatically raised its warning against travel to Saudi Arabia, saying militants may be in the final phases of planning attacks. The United States also warned last month of possible attacks in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which runs till late November. The U.S. State Department later told Americans to defer non-essential travel to the kingdom, citing credible information of a threat of attacks on transport and aviation targets. Saudi officials were not immediately available to comment on the latest warning and U.S. diplomats declined comment beyond the advisory. Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, has intensified a crackdown on Muslim militants since triple suicide bombings on expatriate housing compounds in Riyadh in May killed 35 people, including nine Americans. On Thursday, two Muslim militants blew themselves up during a police raid in Mecca, hours after another militant was shot dead in Riyadh. And earlier this week, two militants were killed in a shootout with security forces and the Interior Ministry said police foiled a plot to target Muslim pilgrims in Mecca. Riyadh has nabbed nearly 600 people since the May bombings. |
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