Bahrain’s prime minister says his country is secure and able to protect residents after Washington warned of possible attacks in the Gulf state and issued a mandatory evacuation order for some U.S. citizens. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet and is linked by a causeway to its neighbour Saudi Arabia, which has been hit by a wave of al Qaeda attacks against Westerners. An employee at the U.S. embassy in Manama told Reuters the embassy had cancelled July 4 Independence Day celebrations, which had been scheduled for July 6 at a hotel in the capital, "due to security concerns related to the advisory". "Bahrain has been and still is an oasis of safety, security and stability...and is capable of protecting the interests of all individuals and institutions that it hosts," said Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa. "The country’s security apparatus is capable of thwarting any attempt to target those under the protection of the state," he said in remarks on Saturday carried on the official news agency BNA.
The U.S. Defense Department issued a mandatory evacuation order on Friday for non-emergency employees and families of American military personnel due to concern about planned attacks by extremists on U.S. and Western targets in Bahrain. "Credible information indicates that extremists remain at large and are planning attacks in Bahrain," the advisory stated. Earlier, American citizens were urged to consider leaving Bahrain, which is the Gulf’s financial and banking hub. It is less than two weeks since Bahrain arrested six men on suspicion of supporting Saudi-born Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network and planning attacks in the Gulf state, but then freed them because of lack of evidence. The U.S. embassy gave no details of the threat in Bahrain, but mentioned the suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, which hit residential compounds. |