US warns of al-Qaida Christmas threat to Bahrain

The US government has been told that the Gulf state of Bahrain may be the target for al-Qaida terror attacks between Christmas Eve and January 2.

Americans in Bahrain have been told to avoid places where Westerners are known to congregate and to reduce unnecessary travel.

The US embassy in the capital Manama told Americans that they should remain aware of their surroundings, be vigilant about their personal security, maintain an unpredictable daily schedule, and vary the routes used to travel to and from their places of work and residence.”

An embassy statement said : “The US Government remains deeply concerned about the security of US citizens overseas.

“US citizens are cautioned to maintain a high level of vigilance, to remain alert and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. We are seeing increasing indications that Al-Qaida is preparing to strike US interests abroad.”