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UK issues E. Africa terror alert
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The UK Foreign Office has revised its travel advice for six east African countries Friday, warning of a "clear terrorist threat" in the region. The upgraded advice for its nationals covers Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti, and comes 24 hours after it urged British-based airlines to suspend all flights to and from Kenya because of fears of an imminent attack by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. The FO, in a statement on its Web site, does not advise against all non-essential travel to any of these six countries, (unlike Kenya) but in each case, says it assesses there is a "clear terrorist threat." This replaces the previous reference to an "increased threat." The statement adds that British nationals are advised to be "especially vigilant" in public places frequented by foreigners. All British Airways flights between the UK and Kenya were suspended Thursday "until further notice" after the British Department for Transport said Britons in Kenya should take care because of "a credible terrorist threat to Western interests." (Full Story) The British based their decision on the Kenyan government's intelligence that terrorists, believed to be al Qaeda, were planning another attack somewhere in east Africa. Al Qaeda is suspected of having been involved in a car bomb attack on a Mombasa hotel last November in which 13 people were killed. In an almost simultaneous attack, two missiles were fired at an Israeli charter jet, narrowly missing its target. Kenya's security chief, Chris Murunguru, said this week's move by Britain was an overreaction. "The action taken by the British government was extreme, and action like this means they are giving terrorists a moral score," he said. British High Commissioner Edward Clay refused on Friday to give details of the information leading to the Kenya flight suspension, but he confirmed that the reported return of suspected al Qaeda member Fazul Abdullah Mohammed to Kenya from neighboring Somalia was linked to the decision. The Kenyan government suspects Mohammed was an active plotter and participant in the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as well as in the bombing of a hotel in Mombasa last November. But Murunguru said Thursday officials knew no specific threats connected to him.
Asked whether the presence of one terror suspect in Kenya warranted suspending flights, Clay replied: "It warrants taking serious account of the possibility that there is active planning going on for a further attack." About 100,000 Britons holiday each year in Kenya. Kenya said on Friday it had stepped up security in light of more possible terror attacks at British and U.S. installations. Other measures include: • The establishment of an anti-terrorist police unit working closely with international security agencies. • Greater vigilance at airports, tourist resorts and hotels. • Around the clock surveillance of flight approach paths. • Spot checks on all vehicles and visitors entering parks. • And a 24-hour manned radar beacon at Nairobi National Park, next to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The FO Web site Friday also refers to this week's suspected al Qaeda triple bomb attack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in which at least 34 people died. (Full Story) It adds: "The bomb attack in Riyadh on 12 May shows that the terrorist threat remains real." The United States and Australia have also issued fresh travel advisories for Kenya. U.S. officials have said intelligence suggests more terror attacks were possible soon in Kenya and Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines and Malaysia.
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