Post date: Aug 09, 2013 10:26:55 AM
The U.S. government orders non-essential staff to leave its consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (AUGUST 9, 2013) (REUTERS) - The U.S. government ordered all non-essential staff to leave its consulate in the northeastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday (August 9) due to the threat of attack, with the State Department also warning U.S. citizens not to travel to Pakistan.
"The Department of State ordered this drawdown due to specific threats concerning the U.S. consulate in Lahore," said a travel warning posted on the Department of State's website on Thursday (August 8) .The warning in Lahore, near Pakistan's border with India, comes two days after Washington ordered some diplomats to leave Yemen and told its nationals to get out of the country immediately.
The United States shut nearly two dozen missions across the Middle East after a worldwide alert on Aug. 2, warning Americans that al Qaeda may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.
U.S. sources have told Reuters that intercepted communication between bin Laden's successor as al Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, and the Yemen-based wing was one part of the intelligence behind their alert last week.
The Lahore warning noted that "several foreign and indigenous terrorist groups pose a potential danger to U.S. citizens throughout Pakistan".
A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said it was unclear when the consulate would reopen. Tensions have also risen this week with Pakistan's neighbour India over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
It was unclear if the Lahore announcement was linked with the earlier U.S. closures. The embassy spokeswoman said the closure was due to a specific threat to Lahore.
A cosmopolitan city dominated by an ancient Mughal fort, Lahore is Pakistan's cultural capital but has also suffered from attacks by militant groups.
A bomb killed five people and wounded dozens on a restaurant-lined street, popular with tourists, in Lahore last month. Attacks have gone up since the landslide election of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in May elections.
Pakistan is home to a number of militant groups, including al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other sectarian groups.