Terror alerts issued worldwide

Friday, 16 May 2003 12:00 AM

Countries around the world have issued terror warnings in the wake of suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which proved al-Qaeda remains a threat.

The US and Britain have warned citizens of the possibility of terrorist attacks in East Africa and parts of South East Asia and have advised against non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia and Kenya. Many American and British workers have started to pull out of the Arab kingdom.

The triple suicide bombing of housing compounds for westerners in the Saudi capital took place on Tuesday and killed at least 34 people, including two Britons.

The US has also revealed that it has information regarding a specific threat to the city of Jeddah.

Experts from the Metropolitan Police and the FBI have been sent to Riyadh to gather evidence alongside Saudi police.

All flights between the UK and Kenya were cancelled from last night and the Foreign Office is now attempting to arrange travel for hundreds of stranded passengers through a third country.

The Department of Transport described the terrorist threat to British planes as 'imminent.'

The decision was taken after it emerged that a notorious terrorist suspect, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, is thought to be in Kenya. He is suspected of masterminding last November's bombing of an Israeli hotel near Mombasa and the 1998 bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Kenyan authorities attacked the flight ban, calling it 'an over-reaction' and claiming that it was giving in to the terrorists.

The last UK flight to leave Nairobi touched down at Heathrow Airport on Friday morning, with 228 people on board.

Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand have advised nationals to be aware of the threat of attacks in South East Asia, in particular Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor and Brunei.

The terror alerts are likely to cause serious damage to the tourist industries of the countries affected as travellers choose to stay away. The Asian economy has already suffered a huge blow with the spread of the deadly Sars virus recently. About 100,000 Britons holiday each year in Kenya.

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