U.S. warns of plot to abduct journalists in Syria

WASHINGTON The State Department says it has learned of a plot to abduct Western journalists covering Syria's civil war and is warning those who travel there to take precautions.

In a notice posted Tuesday to the website of the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Damascus, the department said it "has information that there is a kidnapping plot directed at Western journalists traveling to central and southern Syria." The notice, titled "Risk of Kidnappings for Western Journalists" and dated Monday, gave no additional details.

It repeated advice for American citizens to leave Syria immediately and said that those who stay should maintain a high level of vigilance. Several Western journalists are presumed to have been abducted in Syria, including at least one American and four Frenchmen.