WASHINGTON — The State Department put the world on edge Friday, warning American travelers to be wary of Al Qaeda attacks this month in the Middle East and North Africa.  The unusual travel alert for the remainder of August was issued after the U.S. intercepted electronic communications this week among senior Al Qaeda operatives, a New York Times report said late Friday.  It was unclear if the National Security Agency was involved in the interception. But analysts noted that the NSA — under fire thanks to leaks by former contractor Edward Snowden — could use some positive press.  Whatever prompted it, the travel alert came a day after the State Department said it would shutter 21 of its embassies and consulates across the Muslim world Sunday, from Mauritania all the way to Afghanistan.  RELATED: U.S. ISSUES WORLDWIDE TRAVEL ALERT AFTER AL QAEDA THREAT  Sunday is the first day of the business week in Muslim nations.  That precaution coupled with the travel alert Friday raised eyebrows, partly because a similar warning was issued in 2012 ahead of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Back then, American posts were besieged by protests over an anti-Islam video, and a separate terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, resulted in the death of Americans, including a U.S. ambassador.  Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he was briefed on the risk Wednesday.  “It’s one of the most serious threats I’ve seen,” King said.  RELATED: OBAMA'S NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM ACKNOWLEDGES SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICANS  The congressman said he was unable to elaborate on the exact nature of the threat and its origin.  But he said it could focus on the Middle East, while affecting other regions. King called the warning a “worldwide alert.”  Al Qaeda and affiliates “continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and ... they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August,” the alert cautions.  It notes that terrorists “may use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests,” and it reminds Americans that terrorists have in the past targeted public transportation systems such as subways.  RELATED: COLIN POWELL: ‘THERE WAS NO AFFAIR THEN AND THERE IS NOT ONE NOW’  It appears the travel alert and the embassy closures are related.  House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.), interviewed Friday on CNN, tied the closure of diplomatic facilities to the scourge of Al Qaeda.  “It’s my understanding that it is Al Qaeda-linked,” Royce said. “And the threat emanates in the Middle East and in Central Asia.”  State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said some of the embassies and consulates may stay closed beyond Sunday.  RELATED: SNOWDEN LEAVES MOSCOW AIRPORT AFTER GAINING ASYLUM  With the alert pointing toward the Arabian Peninsula, eyes turned Friday to Yemen, where the offshoot known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is based.  The organization is widely considered the most dangerous of several Al Qaeda spinoffs, having been implicated in the 2009 Christmas Day “Underwear Bomb” plot and a failed 2010 attempt to blow up cargo planes.  “U.S. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling,” the warning Friday states.  It assures travelers that the U.S. is working with other nations to stamp out the threat.  Yemen president Abd Rabuh Mansur Hadi visited Washington this week and met Thursday at the White House with President Obama, and U.S. drone strikes in the Arab nation continue to target members of Al Qaeda there.
The State Department Friday warned travelers of an Arab-based Al Qaeda terror threat targeting the Mideast and North Africa.