US warns of Jeddah attack

Jeddah is a busy Red Sea port

The US State Department has warned of a possible imminent terrorist attack in the western Saudi city of Jeddah.

"(We have) received an unconfirmed report that a possible terrorist attack in the Al Hamra district of Jeddah may occur in the near future," the warning said.

Some diplomats in the area - close to the US consulate and Saudi King Fahd's summer palace - have already been moved out of their homes as a precaution.

The warning follows Monday's triple suicide bombing in the Saudi capital Riyadh, in which at least 25 people were killed, along with nine attackers.

A team of American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents has gone to Riyadh to help the Saudi authorities investigate the bombings.

Taking no chances

The BBC's Steve Kingston in Washington says that, at this stage, the Americans cannot say how credible is the threat of an attack in Jeddah - a busy Red Sea port about 850 kilometres (530 miles) south-west of Riyadh.

The US has urged its citizens to leave Saudi Arabia

But our correspondent says that, in light of recent events, American officials are not taking any chances.

"US citizens are encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance," the State Department warning said.

The US issued several similar alerts in the weeks leading up to the attacks on housing compounds in Riyadh.

Those attacks have been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, although the source of the new threat has not been spelt out.