A week ago the US closed about 25 of the embassies in the Arab world after alleged threats from al-Qaeda. Communications intercepts reportedly included an attack order from al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
This Sunday, the embassy in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi and the US consulate in Dubai reopened, as the holiday marking the end of the fasting month came to a close in the southern Gulf state.
The embassy in Libya also reopened on Sunday. In Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh embassy and the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran remained closed, as did the US embassy in neighbouring Qatar. They are due to reopen on August 14, when the holidays end in those two nations.
In Bahrain and Kuwait, the American embassies are due to reopen Monday. Washington closed off its 19 missions in the Middle East and Africa last week following a security alert. The US said on Friday that all of the embassies it shut would reopen this week, except the mission in Yemen.
The state department issued a worldwide travel alert two weeks ago to US citizens, warning of the "potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure." Hours after the US alert was issued, an audio recording was posted on militant Islamist forums in which al-Zawahiri accused the US of "plotting" with Egypt's military, secularists and Christians to overthrow Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
In his first public comment on the July 3 military coup, the Egyptian-born al-Zawahiri said: "Crusaders and secularists and the Americanised army have converged with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohamed Morsi's government."
The US has been especially cautious about security since an attack on its consulate in Libya's second city Benghazi on September 11 last year. The assault, blamed on Islamist militants, killed four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens. – AFP