The U.S. government has put out a worldwide travel alert regarding intelligence that al Qaeda may be planning attacks in the Middle East and North Africa over the next several weeks.
CNN informs that the U.S. will close 22 embassies and consulates on Sunday, including in Yemen, which appears to be under heavy threat.
"The threat appears to be much worse than it has [been]in a long time," a senior national security official in Yemen said.
Three unidentified sources said that the U.S. received information that al Qaeda members in the Arabian Peninsula are nearing final preparations for an undisclosed attack.
This knowledge was obtained when electronic communications were seized between al Qaeda leaders, BBC reports.
Such activity may have been spurred on by the closing of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Sunday marks their Laylet al-Qadr, The Night of Power, a much revered event for the Muslim community.
The U.S. state department says that the alert will expire on August 31, and advised U.S. travelers to be cautious.
Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, said, "But I think this, closing all of these embassies in the Middle East to North Africa, is in fact unprecedented. At least, I didn't see this during my career."
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