WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Sunday warned Americans of potential terrorist threats in Europe and urged them to be vigilant in public places, including tourist spots and transportation hubs.
A State Department travel alert advises U.S. citizens living or traveling in Europe to take more precautions about their personal security. The alert is one step below a formal travel warning advising Americans not to visit Europe.
“Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks,” it said. “European governments have taken action to guard against a terrorist attack and some have spoken publicly about the heightened threat conditions.”
Patrick F. Kennedy, under secretary of state for management, said Sunday afternoon the alert was issued as a result of “cumulative” information gathered by U.S. embassies, law enforcement and the intelligence community and was not based on a “eureka moment.”
“As facts came to our attention, a picture began to emerge,” Mr. Kennedy said.
He also said overseas alerts are typically issued on such occasions as contentious elections, strikes or severe weather conditions, such as the recent volcano-ash storm. However, he could not recall a recent one issued over concerns about terror attacks.
Though the U.S. government is urging overseas Americans to be more cautious, officials are “not, not, not saying they should defer travel,” Mr. Kennedy also said.
The travel alert noted in particular “the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure.”
“U.S. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling,” the department said.
Britain’s Foreign Office upgraded its travel advice for France and Germany, warning Britons going to those countries that the threat of terrorism there is high. Before Sunday’s change, the government’s travel advice for France and Germany was that the threat from terror attacks there was “general.”
Gemany’s Interior Ministry said it saw no need to change its assessment of risks to the country and there were “still no concrete indications of imminent attacks” there.
France’s interior minister said that the threat of a terrorist attack is real but that the country is not raising its alert level.
British Home Secretary Theresa May said the threat of terrorism in the United Kingdom remains unchanged at “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely.
U.S. and European security experts have been concerned for days that terrorists may be plotting attacks in Europe with assault weapons on public places, similar to the deadly 2008 shooting spree in Mumbai, India.
“The terrorist threat exists and could hit us at any moment,” the French Defense Minister Herve Morin said in an interview published Sunday. “Networks organizing themselves to prepare attacks are constantly being dismantled around the world. It is good for the French to know this,” he was quoted as saying in the daily Le Parisien.
The U.S. notice said terrorists “may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests” and noted past attacks against subways, rail systems, and aviation and maritime services.
“U.S. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling,” according to the alert.
The alert fell short of a formal travel warning, which could have broader implications, including a stronger likelihood of canceled airline and hotel bookings, and wasn’t intended to urge travelers to stay away from public places. Europeans and some members of the Obama administration viewed that stance as an overreaction.
The alert could hurt European tourism and affect business travel. But there was no strong opposition to the proposed alert from European leaders, who privately were advised of the impending action, a European official said.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are in Europe at any one time, including tourists, students and businesspeople. For insurance and liability reasons, many U.S. college and university study-abroad programs will not send students to countries for which a warning is in effect.
U.S. intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden is behind the terror plots to attack several European cities. If true, this would be the most operational role that bin Laden has played in plotting attacks since Sept. 11, 2001.
Eight Germans and two British brothers are at the heart of an al-Qaeda-linked terror plot against European cities, but the plan is still in its early stages, with the suspects calling acquaintances in Europe to plan logistics, a Pakistani intelligence official said Thursday. One of the Britons died in a recent CIA missile strike, he said.
The Pakistani official said the suspects are hiding in North Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal region where militancy is rife and where the United States has focused many of its drone-fired missile strikes.
Politics writer Joseph Weber contributed to this article.
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