US to reopen 18 embassies on Sunday

The United States will reopen on Sunday 18 of the 19 diplomatic missions recently closed due to security threats, the State Department has said. The US embassy in Sanna, Yemen will remain closed because of ongoing concerns about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks emanating from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the department said. The consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore, which closed after a separate threat, will also not reopen yet. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “We will continue to evaluate the threats to Sanaa and Lahore and make subsequent decisions about the re-opening of those facilities based on that information. “We will also continue to evaluate information about these and all of our posts and to take appropriate steps to best protect the safety of our personnel, American citizens traveling overseas, and visitors to our facilities.” On August 4, the US closed 19 diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa last Sunday in response to what it said was a threat of a terrorist attack.