The US embassy in Saudi Arabia said today it and other missions in the kingdom would shut tomorrow due to fears of more attacks against unspecified targets following suicide bombings in Riyadh last week.
The embassy warning comes a day after Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, said he believed the suicide bombers who struck Riyadh were planning a much bigger operation.
"In response to information that some strikes may be imminent, the (Riyadh) embassy and consulates general in Jeddah and Dhahran will be closed on May 21st, 2003," the embassy said in a statement. It said they would not reopen before May 25th.
The statement gave no further details and Saudi officials were not immediately available for comment.
Prince Bandar said Saudi and US intelligence had picked up "(electronic) chatter" that terror groups were possibly planning further attacks.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, said it was stepping up measures to prevent attacks after the Riyadh blasts, which killed at least 34 people, including eight Americans.
The triple attacks at foreign residential compounds were the first time civilians were targeted in the kingdom.
US and Saudi officials have blamed the bombings on al Qaeda militants led by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden. The United States has accused bin Laden and al Qaeda for the September 11th, 2001 hijacked airliner attacks on US cities.
The US embassy statement followed the arrest of a Saudi gunman who was roaming around the U.S. consulate in Dhahran. The gunman did not fire any shots and the Saudi authorities described him as "mentally disturbed".