Attack warnings issued in Kenya, Saudi Arabia

NAIROBI, Kenya - U.S. embassies on Tuesday warned of terror attacks against two hotels in Kenya and a housing compound for Westerners in Saudi Arabia. Kenyan police said they were investigating reports that terrorists had packed a truck with explosives for an imminent attack.

The embassy warnings focused on two nations that have seen a number of attacks by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Further heightening fears, two banks in the Kenyan capital were evacuated due to bomb threats that turned out to be unfounded.

Also Tuesday, British police arrested 14 people on suspicion of terrorism offenses in raids in London and other cities Tuesday. The suspects' names and nationalities were not released.

The U.S. State Department issued an advisory Tuesday warning of suspected plans for a terror attack aimed at American and Western interests in downtown Nairobi, particularly two hotels. "The timing of the threat is within the next several days," the statement said.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Peter Claussen said U.S. authorities received an anonymous tip Monday detailing the threats. The information was passed on to Kenyan authorities.

United Nations security officials also advised employees against visiting the downtown area Tuesday or today.

Jonathan Koskei, the senior police official for Nairobi, said the U.S. Embassy alerted Kenyan authorities three days ago about intelligence reports that indicated terrorists had packed a truck with explosives and were planning to attack a hotel.

"We've been investigating these threats, but we cannot confirm the existence of this truck," he said. The Kenyan police deployed their main paramilitary unit to both hotels and the bank buildings.

In Tuesday's bomb scares, the Barclay's Bank building was evacuated for four hours, along with a second Barclay's branch office in downtown Nairobi. The South African Embassy, in the same area as the banks, was closed Tuesday, but embassy personnel refused to comment.

Al-Qaida has twice struck Kenya. The old embassy was destroyed in 1998 by a car bomb, an attack that killed 219 people, including 12 Americans. Kenyan police reportedly uncovered a plot to destroy the new U.S. Embassy in June.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, terrorists had the Seder Village compound under "active surveillance," said Carol Kalin, embassy spokeswoman in Saudi Arabia. She said other housing complexes may also be targeted.

Kalin said the embassy had barred its American employees and dependents from visiting housing compounds in Riyadh between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. "except for official business."

There are some 30,000 Americans living in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Embassy was scheduled to resume work today after a weeklong closure for a Muslim feast.

Militants attacked three compounds for foreigners in Riyadh in May, detonating vehicle bombs, killing 35 people including the nine assailants. A suicide attack killed 17 people in the capital Nov. 8.

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