State Department issues worldwide travel warning for U.S. citizens

Wed, 2013-02-20 11:43 AM By: Mark Rockwell

Citing continued terrorist activity in a number of hot spots around the world, as well as the potential for attacks in more popular tourist destinations, the U.S. Department of State issued a worldwide caution for U.S. travelers on Feb. 19.

The new caution updates a similar notice the department posted last July, advising U.S. travelers to be very vigilant to the continuing threat of potential attacks in an unstable world and to take prudent steps to protect themselves.

The department said it “remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations, and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas.” It said Al Qaeda and its affiliates, as well as other terror groups, continue to plan attacks against U.S. interests in regions around the globe, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The attacks could employ a wide variety of tactics, including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings, it said.

Terrorists could use conventional and non-conventional weapons to target official and private interests. Targets, it warned, could include high-profile sporting events, residential areas, business offices, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, public areas, and other tourist destinations both in the U.S. and abroad where U.S. citizens gather in large numbers, especially during holidays.

Public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure are also possible objectives for extremists, it said, as they have targeted and even attacked subway and rail systems, aviation, and maritime services in Moscow, London, Madrid, Glasgow, and New York City in the past.

In Europe, it said current information suggests that Al Qadea, its affiliates, as well as unrelated extremist groups are actively planning attacks. It pointed to the Feb. 1 suicide bombing at a side entrance to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, that killed one Embassy guard and injured others. Responsibility for that attack was claimed by The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Partisi/Cephesi or DHKP/C), it said. The DHKP/C has stated its intention to commit further attacks against the United States, NATO, and Turkey, according to the warning.

In the Middle East and Africa, it cited Al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) attack on the natural gas facility in Algeria, as well as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) activities in Yemen. It also said the conflict in Syria is also a brewing cauldron of unrest. Al Shabaab, Boko Haram, as well as Iranian-backed groups are also part of a volatile mix of extremists hostile to the U.S.

In south Asia, it said the U.S. government continues to receive information that terrorist groups may also be planning attacks in the region, possibly against U.S. government facilities, U.S. citizens, or U.S. interests. Lashkar-e-Taiba, indigenous sectarian groups, and other terror organizations, pose potential dangers to U.S. citizens in the region, it said.

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