Twenty-one US embassies and consulates³ closed on Sunday.

 

The state department in Washington said the extended closures were "out of an abundance of caution", and not a reaction to a new threat.

 

The UK said its embassy in Yemen would stay closed until the Muslim festival of Eid on Thursday.

 

The decision to close the embassies comes as the US government battles to defend recently disclosed surveillance programmes that have stirred deep privacy concerns.

 

Security at US diplomatic facilities also remains⁴ a concern following last year's attack on the US consulate² in Benghazi, Libya, where the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed.

 

While details of the threats are unspecified, the BBC's David Willis, in Washington, says members of Congress who have been briefed about the intelligence seem to agree it amounts to one of the most serious in recent years - all pointing to possibility of a major attack, possibly to coincide with the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which ends this week.

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