22 U.S. missions to remain shut for a week over Al Qaeda attack fears

The U.S. State Department has said that 22 of its diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa will remain closed till August 10 (Saturday) to safeguard against terror threats from al Qaeda and its affiliates.

Fox News reports that U.S. embassies in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antanarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali and Port Louis have been instructed to remain closed this week.

U.S. intelligence agencies have revealed that Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has been pressuring militants in the Arab Peninsula to launch fresh terrorist attacks on American and other Western targets, following the recent killing of members of an al-Qaeda group by American security forces.

New York Republican member Pete King, leader of the subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence, also said that the threat message included dates but not locations of possible attacks.

The precautionary measures by U.S. were prompted after a series of recent Al Qaeda-led prison breaks that have freed hundreds of militants over the last month, the report added.

The French-based international policy agency, Interpol, has also issued a global security alert.