U.S. Embassy In Qatar Closed Due To Security Fears
DOHA (AFP) - The U.S. embassy in Qatar has closed for at least a week, an embassy spokeswoman said Tuesday, amid a U.S. security alert in the Gulf since the bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen.
"American residents in Qatar were informed that the embassy would be closed all week," Elita Wenger said.
The embassy has kept its doors shut since Saturday, the start of the working week in the Muslim Gulf states, and it was unclear when the mission would reopen, she said.
Wenger declined to comment on any specific threat but referred instead to a U.S. announcement in October that U.S. offices abroad could be closed "to ensure the safety of staff".
Security at the embassy, which is located in a semi-isolated sector of Doha, was tight on Tuesday with guards blocking access to cars.
U.S. embassies in the Gulf had previously remained open for business despite U.S. forces in most of the region's states being put on maximum alert after the October 12th bombing of the Cole.
Last week, the U.S. navy said the Pentagon was sending additional units to the Gulf to reinforce security, nearly two months after the bombing in the Yemeni port of Aden that killed 17 U.S. sailors.
