US warns Riyadh against Al Qaeda

RIYADH: The US embassy in Riyadh on Sunday listed a sweeping range of precautions it urged American residents of Saudi Arabia to take, one day after a US national was killed and another reportedly abducted by suspected Al-Qaeda members, AFP reported.

The United States has warned that Al Qaeda’s determination to stage attacks within Saudi Arabia posed a serious threat to the kingdom and made it a dangerous place for foreigners.

“Clearly, Al Qaeda has been determined to try and carry out attacks in Saudi Arabia,” National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told CNN.

A new US embassy message warning Americans said, “Avoid areas frequented by westerners and avoid establishments at times when westerners constitute the majority of the patrons.”

The message urged Americans to vary their times and routes and be “unpredictable in your work and social schedules”.

It advised them to keep a low profile, not to get “boxed in” in traffic and be “prepared to take evasive action at any time,” and to check their vehicles thoroughly before getting into them.

Britain authorised unessential embassy staff and the relatives of employees to leave Saudi Arabia, a British Embassy spokesman announced on Sunday. agencies

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