The United States is closing down several embassies in Muslim nations this Sunday due to “a specific threat,” a senior government head said.
“We just don’t know which [facility],” the senior official told ABC News. But it’s a “concerted effort” to target and hit an embassy or a consulate, he said.
Another government source said: “There could be other targets, not just embassies.”
The threat is believed to be valid for American facilities in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, ABC News reported.
Embassies to close include those in Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait — areas of sizeable American troop deployment. Also to close: The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, and embassies in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Amman, Jordan, Muscat, Oman, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Algiers, Algeria, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sana’a, Yemen and Tripoli.
Two more consulates in Saudi Arabia are also set to close. Consulates in Dubai will shut, too, ABC reported.
The State Department announced the closings on Thursday, but did not go into details.
“Security considerations have led us to take this precautionary step,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in the ABC News report.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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