U.S. Warns Of Saudi Terror Threat

The United States will close its missions in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for an undetermined period because of "credible" information that terrorists are about to carry out attacks, the U.S. Embassy said Friday.

America also warned that Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan may attempt to kidnap U.S. journalists working in that country.

The U.S. Embassy in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, said Americans in the kingdom should be "vigilant when in any area that is perceived to be American or Western."

The embassy said in a warden message on its Web site that the missions in Riyadh, Jiddah and Dhahran would close to assess their "security posture."

They will then advise the American community when the review is completed and when the missions plan to resume normal operations.

The embassy said it had received "credible information that terrorists in Saudi Arabia have moved from the planning to operational phase of planned attacks in the kingdom."

An embassy spokesperson, asked by The Associated Press about how long the diplomatic missions would remain closed, said: "We will take it day by day." The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said fears of an imminent attack in Saudi Arabia meant it was "prudent ... to warn Americans and to close our operations for a review."

"The situation has been dangerous, perilous, for Americans in Saudi Arabia," Boucher told reporters in Washington, particularly since the May 12 attacks against Western residential compounds in Riyadh that killed 35 people, including the nine attackers.

Boucher said U.S. and Saudi officials have been working on cracking down on terrorists operating inside the Gulf kingdom, but added that "the process is not complete yet, so there remains a degree of danger there."

On Monday, Saudi police uncovered a cell believed linked to al Qaeda network in the holy city of Mecca. Police believe the cell had planned to carry out attacks during Ramadan.

The alert came a day after two suspected militants, believed to be members of the Mecca cell, blew themselves up in the holy city to avoid arrest. A third suspect was killed in a shootout with security forces in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

Since a nationwide security crackdown was launched following the May 12 attacks, Saudi authorities have arrested about 600 suspects believed linked to al Qaeda.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said there was no current plan to close the British Embassy in Riyadh in light of the U.S. decision.

In Afghanistan, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it has "credible information that Taliban forces are actively searching for American journalists to take hostage for use as leverage for the release of Taliban currently under United States control."

In a statement released to journalists, it advised them "to increase their security posture."

The Taliban were ousted by a U.S.-led coalition almost two years ago. The U.S. military holds Taliban captives at Bagram Air Base, the coalition's headquarters north of Kabul, as well as at a detention facility on Guantanamo Naval Base, Cuba.

Fighters with links to the former regime have stepped up attacks in recent months, mostly in southern and eastern Afghanistan. On Oct. 30, Taliban insurgents abducted a Turkish road engineer, demanding the release of Taliban prisoners. Negotiations were continuing.