Multiple prison escapes with suspected al Qaeda involvement over the past month have led Interpol to issue a global security alert and has prompted the international crime agency to ask for assistance in determining whether the events are linked.
The prison breaks, which occurred in Iraq, Libya, and Pakistan, among other countries, have resulted in "the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals," according to a statement from Interpol on Saturday.
The global security alert from the Lyon, France-based police organization came one day after the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide alert for all U.S. citizens traveling abroad due to an unspecified threat of a possible al Qaeda attack.
“The threats against American interests are real and serious and we must not let our guard down,” Mike Rogers, the intelligence committee chairman, said of the vague threat, which also resulted in the closure of at least 22 U.S. embassies and consulates for the weekend.
Interpol called for the assistance of its 190 member countries in determining whether the prison escapes in nine countries over the past month alone were linked.
Interpol is "asking its member countries to closely follow and swiftly process any information linked to these events and the escaped prisoners," the statement on Saturday said. "They are also requested to alert the relevant member country and INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters if any escaped terrorist is located or intelligence developed which could help prevent another terrorist attack."
Interpol issues this type of alert fairly regularly, according to The Associated Press. The last one was 10 days ago following jailbreaks from Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison and the Taji prison near Baghdad.
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