The U.S. government has extended the closure of some of its embassies and consulates for a week after shutting down last Sunday in fear of an Al-Qaida attack.
More than twenty U.S. embassies and consulates in the Muslim world were closed Sunday and a number of its overseas offices in North Africa and the Middle East will now be shut down until Saturday.
The U.S. State Department said the closure was extended "out of an abundance of caution," and in response to a "new threat stream."
While its diplomatic offices in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa , Amman, Cairo, Dhahran, Jeddah and Tripoli will remain closed till Saturday, diplomatic missions in Kabul, Algiers and Baghdad will reopen on Monday.
Initially, Washington closed 21 of its embassies and it had also issued a travel advisory to its citizens.
"Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," said the State Department in a statement.
"The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," said the State Department.
"We recommend U.S. citizens register their travel plans with the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy through the State Department's travel registration website," said the travel advisory " We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens Traveling abroad enroll in the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency."
The U.K. government had also announced that its embassy in Yemen will remain closed till the end of the Muslim festival of Eid.
