(Reuters) – The United States and Britain warned their citizens on Sunday of an increased risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, with Washington saying al Qaeda might target transport infrastructure.
Picture from Daily Mail
The U.S. State Department issued a warning directed at American citizens travelling in Europe, without singling out any specific countries.
Britain raised the terrorism threat level in its advice for citizens travelling to Germany and France to “high” from “general.” It left the threat level at home unchanged at “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely, and said it agreed with the U.S. assessment for the continent as a whole.
The moves came after a week in which a number of European officials had broadly confirmed media reports that new intelligence indicated possible attacks on the continent.
Western intelligence sources said militants in hideouts in northwest Pakistan had been plotting coordinated attacks on European cities, the plans apparently surviving setbacks from a September surge in drone strikes and an arrest.
The plot involved al Qaeda and allied militants, possibly including European citizens or residents, the sources said. In Washington, U.S. officials said Osama bin Laden and the top al Qaeda leadership were likely behind the plot.
Some security officials have drawn comparisons to the brazen Mumbai attacks in 2008, which targeted city landmarks including luxury hotels and a cafe and killed 166 people.
The U.S. State Department travel alert said public transportation systems and other tourism-related facilities could be targets, noting that past attacks had struck rail, airline and boat services.
“The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to the potential for terrorist attacks in Europe. Current information suggests that al Qaeda 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,” it added.
“You should take these threats seriously, but right now I feel very safe in Paris,” U.S. tourist Tom Steier said.
The alert was posted on its website here
“A growing body of information on terrorist plotting — gathered over time — factored into the decision to issue the alert,” the U.S. official said.
CONSTANT REVIEW French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said France had taken the US warning into account: “The terrorist threat remains high in France … the alert level remains unchanged at red,” he said. That is the second highest level.
A spokesman for Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) declined to detail why the travel advice for France and Germany had been updated.
Reuters