Zawahiri's terror plot talk with Yemen Qaeda chief prompted US embassies to close, source says

Nearly two-dozen US embassies and consulates that were closed across the globe resulted from intercepted communications between the head of al-Qaeda and the leader of its Arabian Peninsula affiliate planning a terror attack.

A U.S. intelligence source said that the confirmation shows how high the alleged threat goes in the terror network.

According to Fox News, the source said the communications were intercepted between Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is Osama bin Laden's successor, and Nasir al-Wuhayshi, head of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Officials with the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not confirm the details of any such intercepted communications.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that officials view the threat, which also prompted a worldwide travel alert last week, as significant, the report added.