US Closes 21 embassies amid security fears

Twenty-one US embassies and consulates have been closed for the day in response to fears of an unspecified attack by extremist militants. A state department global travel alert was issued on Friday, and will be in force until the end of August. The department said the potential for an al-Qaeda inspired attack was particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa, with embassies in Amman, Cairo, Kabul and Dhaka among the 21 closed. President Obama was briefed by his senior security team late on Saturday night, in a meeting which was led by National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and also included the heads of the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency, the White House said in a statement. Several European Countries have also shut their embassies in Yemen.