AP: UK raises terror threat to highest levels for citizens in the UAE

The British government has raised its terror warning to the highest level for its citizens living in the United Arab Emirates, an embassy spokesman said Monday.

A statement posted on the Web site of the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi said the country has "a high threat of terrorism."

"We believe terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the UAE. Attacks could be indiscriminate and could happen at any time," it said.

Simon Goldsmith, a spokesman for the British Embassy in Dubai, confirmed the heightened alert and said the terror threat level for Britons in the UAE was at the highest level used by the British government.

The embassy, however, "is not advising British nationals to change their travel plans," Goldsmith told The Associated Press by telephone from Dubai.

The threat level was changed on Saturday, he added.

Goldsmith would not comment on what triggered the heightened alert, but said the threat level was under constant review.

Possible targets include spots popular with expatriates and foreign travelers such as residential compounds, as well as "military, oil, transport and aviation interests," according to the warning posted on the British Embassy's Web site.

Posted by Laura at June 16, 2008 02:31 PM