US to reopen 18 of 19 foreign posts closed amid security concerns

The Yemen embassy will remain closed due "ongoing concerns about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks."

By REUTERS
guard at yemen checkpoint 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
guard at yemen checkpoint 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
WASHINGTON - Eighteen of the 19 US embassies and consulates closed this month due to worries about potential terrorist attacks will reopen on Sunday, the US State Department said on Friday.
"Our embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, will remain closed because of ongoing concerns about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks emanating from Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The United States will also keep its consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, shuttered, Psaki said, adding it closed on Thursday due to a "separate credible threat."
The United States shut about 20 of its embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa on Sunday after saying it had picked up information through surveillance and other means about unspecified terrorist threats. It later said the missions would remain closed through Aug. 10.
A worldwide alert said that al Qaeda could be planning attacks in the Middle East and North Africa.
The reopening US posts are located in Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Libya, Madagascar, Burundi, Djibouti, Sudan, Rwanda, Mauritius, as well as three in Saudi Arabia and two in the United Arab Emirates.
The US government this week warned its citizens to avoid traveling to Pakistan, while some American diplomats from Yemen were evacuated and US nationals were told to leave the country immediately.
President Barack Obama, during a White House news conference on Friday, declined to comment on reports of drone strikes in Pakistan that targeted militants in that country.
The State Department did not indicate when its facilities in Sanaa and Lahore might reopen, saying it will continue to evaluate the "threats."
US embassies and consulates offer emergency services to Americans traveling abroad and attempt to advance U.S. diplomatic and business interests in host countries.