Skip to main content

U.S. Embassy in Jordan warns against travel to Aqaba

By the CNN Wire Staff
Police douse a fire after a rocket smashed into a street in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba on August 2, 2010.
Police douse a fire after a rocket smashed into a street in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba on August 2, 2010.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The embassy says it has "credible information" about a possible threat
  • It warns U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Aqaba for the next two days
RELATED TOPICS

(CNN) -- The U.S. Embassy in Jordan warned Wednesday that "credible information" has been received about a possible imminent threat in the region of the Gulf of Aqaba, the branch of the Red Sea that lies between Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

The embassy warned U.S. citizens to avoid the downtown and port areas of the city of Aqaba, a tourist destination that lies on the Red Sea near the border with Israel.

It recommended that all non-official and personal travel to Aqaba be deferred for at least 48 hours.

The embassy issued a similar warning last month, after two rockets hit a street near the Intercontinental Hotel in Aqaba on August 2. News reports said a Jordanian civilian was killed.

Rockets were also fired the same day at the Israeli Red Sea resort city of Eilat, according to news reports.

However, Ali Al Ayed, Jordan's minister for media affairs and communications, told the state news agency Petra that the security situation was assessed and is considered stable. He said the U.S. Embassy warnings pertained only to U.S. citizens.