U.S. warns of Kenya, Saudi attacks
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Soldiers guard a bank plaza in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, following the latest terror warnings.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials have issued a warning over the possibility of terrorist attacks in the coming days aimed at American and European interests in Kenya and Saudi Arabia.
The State Department says the American Embassy in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has received an anonymous letter detailing a threatened attack within the next several days, possibly against Western-owned hotels.
While they cannot corroborate the threat, they say it is alarming enough to make public.
"We are in a heightened threat environment" worldwide, said one U.S. official following Tuesday's announcement.
Meanwhile officials say the embassy in Riyadh has received intelligence that suspected extremists have a housing compound there under "active surveillance."
An official told CNN there was also "reason to be concerned" that Britain may be a target -- either with an attack on British soil or against British interests overseas.
The Kenya advisory was echoed on the Web site for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
It warned Australians to avoid non-essential travel to Kenya and advised nationals living in the country who are concerned about their safety to consider leaving.
The Kenyan threats had named "American and Western interests in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, specifically the Stanley Hotel and the Hilton Hotel," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
"The timing of the threat is within the next several days," it added.
Employees at both hotels said they had been made aware of the threats and had taken action to increase security, he said.
The Kenyan government has made no comment on the threats. Armed security officers were seen Tuesday evening around the Hilton, but none were evident at the Stanley.
In 1998, more than 200 Kenyans were killed in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. The attack was blamed on al Qaeda, making it the most deadly of the terror network's strikes on Western interests prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Suicide attacks
With regards to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Embassy there said the warnings focused on the Seder Village housing compound in the capital, Riyadh.
It said other Western compounds within the country may also be targeted.
The embassy has restricted its U.S. employees and dependents from visiting housing compounds in the Riyadh area between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., except for official business.
This year Riyadh has seen two suicide bombings against housing compounds in the city -- the first in May and then again in November.
On November 8, a car bomb exploded at a Riyadh housing compound killing 17 people, mostly Arabs. Saudi officials say they believe al Qaeda was behind the attack, mistakenly thinking the compound housed Americans.
In May, triple car bombings in Riyadh killed 23 people at three complexes housing Westerners. Twelve other bodies were identified as bombers.
-- CNN's David Ensor and Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.
