US 'considers Europe terror warning'

The Obama administration is reportedly considering warning US citizens to stay vigilant while in Europe due to new al-Qaeda threats.

The State Department may issue a travel warning as early as Sunday advising Americans to stay away from European tourist sites, transportation hubs and other facilities because of fresh threat information, the Associated Press reported.

State Department spokesman PJ Crowley declined to comment on the matter. But he said the administration remains focused on al-Qaeda threats to US interests and will take appropriate steps to protect Americans.

A European official briefed on the talks said the language in the US alert is expected to be vague and will not address a specific country or specific landmarks.

European and US officials have not identified any specific targets that terrorists might be considering, the official said. Officials have called the threat credible but not specific.

The US has reportedly told European leaders that the State Department alert would be intended to raise the warning level to match the information about the would-be attack that surfaced last week.

Intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden is behind the terror plots to attack several European cities. If this is true, this would be the most operational role that bin Laden has played in plotting attacks since September 11, 2001.