Security concerns temporarily close six U.S. embassies

June 25, 1999
Web posted at: 12:51 a.m. EST (0551 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States on Thursday closed six of its embassies for the next three days because of security concerns, the State Department said.

The embassies are to be shut down until Sunday as a precautionary measure.

"Because they are believed to have been under surveillance by suspicious individuals, we have taken the precaution of temporarily closing our embassies ..." said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The embassies are in Gambia, Togo, Madagascar, Liberia, Namibia and Senegal.

The department has received no specific threats targeted at American citizens overseas. But the spokesperson said they should continue to exercise caution while abroad.

The State Department noted that U.S. embassies in Africa and the rest of the world have been on a heightened alert status because of increased security concerns.

Most U.S. embassies in sub-Saharan Africa were ordered closed for two days in December, following U.S. action in Iraq.

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda also has closed on a few occasions because of security concerns since the nearly simultaneous bombings of the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August that left 224 people dead.

U.S. focuses on bin Laden

U.S. officials last week said they feared that suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden -- accused of masterminding the Africa bombings -- "may be in the final stages" of planning an attack against the United States.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity Wednesday, told CNN that current targets would most likely be somewhere in the Middle East or Africa.

However, they refused to rule out the possibility of an attack on U.S. soil -- including Washington, D.C.

The officials expressed specific concern about U.S. embassies in Mozambique, Senegal and Ghana -- all believed to have been under recent surveillance by possible terrorists.

Individuals possibly associated with bin Laden's organization are suspected of videotaping the outside of the embassy in Mozambique.

The officials believe planning for an attack is in the "advanced" or "final stages."

They said the information was a result of intercepted communication and other intelligence gathering methods they would not elaborate on.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.