The security message was published online and sent to US travelers registered with department.
AB Wire
The US government on Thursday issued a fresh warning to its citizens travelling to Saudi Arabia, especially Jeddah that it has informed about a possible attack against its citizens.
The US state Department said that the US embassy in Saudi Arabia has received information of ‘potential, imminent threat’ that was ‘credible’ and ‘serious’ enough to issue a security message.
“It’s a security message, not a travel warning that our consulate put out in Jeddah. Obviously, our consulate felt that the information they had was credible enough, serious enough to warrant sending that message out immediately†John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, told a briefing.
“There is a potential specific threat to American travelling to Jeddah, and in particular, public venues in Jeddah, So it’s very specific to the location and it makes it clear that this is a potential threat to Americans there.†He added.
The security message, published online and sent to US travelers registered with department, did not give further details on the reported threat.
Saudi Arabia is part of the US-led international coalition battling the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. The country has also led a coalition fighting shiite rebels in Yemen.
On July 4, a suicide bomber was killed and two people were injured in a blast near the US consulate in Jeddah. It was the first bombing in years to attempt to target foreigners in the country.
The same day, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb near the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina and a third attack took place in the eastern city of Qatif.