U.S. says Algiers embassy alerted to al Qaeda threat (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The U.S. embassy in Algiers alerted potential targets to an al Qaeda threat to attack planes chartered by oil companies, the State Department said on Friday.

The State Department was responding to a reporter's question posed a day earlier, asking for reaction to reports that the organization called Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) planned to attack planes chartered by oil companies in the Algeria Maghreb region.

"The U.S. Embassy in Algiers received threat information and both the Embassy and the Overseas Security Advisory Council acted quickly to alert potential targets to the threat," the State Department said.

"While we and our international partners have put considerable pressure on al Qaeda and have degraded much of the group's abilities ... we continue to face a significant terrorist threat from al Qaeda, its affiliates, and its adherents," the State Department said.

The State Department said the government of Algeria has long been "one of our strongest partners" in the fight against terrorism.

The Maghreb is the predominantly Islamic area of northwest Africa that includes Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110916/wl_nm/us_usa_security_alqaeda

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