WarSclerotic

US renews global terror alert | The Times of Israel.

State Department urges ‘worldwide caution’ in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, following devastating Kenya attacks

Police stop cars at a checkpoint near the US embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013. (photo credit: AP/Hani Mohammed)

NEW YORK — The State Department renewed its global terrorism alert for US citizens following the attack by al-Qaeda linked extremists on an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya.

In a new “worldwide caution” issued Wednesday, the department said it continued to be concerned about threats to US citizens and interests in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It said attackers could use a variety of tactics, including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings.

It said potential targets could be high-profile sporting events, residential areas, business offices, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, public areas, shopping malls and other tourist destinations where Americans gather in large numbers.

The new warning follows the Nairobi mall attack in which at least 67 people, including 18 foreigners, died.

Earlier this month, Taliban militants in Afghanistan unleashed a series of car bombs at the US consulate in Herat, triggering a firefight with security forces that killed two Afghans and wounded over a dozen people

In August, the US shut down 19 embassies and diplomatic posts in 16 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia for several days due to terrorist threat. The US Embassy in Israel was included in that list for a short time.

An intercepted message between al-Qaeda officials about plans for a major terror attack triggered the closures.

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