US Embassy in Turkey scales back due to security threat

Staff shifts to ‘limited operations’ until Tuesday due to unspecified warning

A Turkish police officer stands in front of people waiting for visas near the side entrance of the US Embassy in Turkey just three days after a suicide attack on the embassy.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
A Turkish police officer stands in front of people waiting for visas near the side entrance of the US Embassy in Turkey just three days after a suicide attack on the embassy.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

ANKARA, Turkey — The US Embassy in Turkey says it has shifted to “limited operations” due to an unspecified security threat.

An embassy spokeswoman in Ankara on Monday could not provide information on the security threat but said the limited operations would continue through Tuesday.

Last week, the US Consulate in Istanbul warned US citizens to avoid the building due to information about an imminent security threat and suspended consular services for a day.

Unconfirmed Turkish news reports said the Consulate was placed on alert following intelligence about possible plans by Islamic State militants for a suicide attack.

Two massive suicide bombings blamed on a local IS cell killed a total of 130 people in attacks near a town on the Syrian border in July and in Ankara in October.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

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