U.S. Consulate in Milan evacuated after bomb threat
The U.S. Consulate in Milan was temporarily evacuated Tuesday after receiving a letter containing a bomb threat, according to news reports.
Other offices in the building were also evacuated and a nearby subway stop shut down while police investigated. No threat was found, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she was not aware of any connection between the letter received in Italy and an intercepted Al Qaeda attack order that resulted in the temporary closure of more than two dozen U.S. diplomatic facilities, mostly in the Arab world, the Associated Press reported.
An officer in Italy’s anti-terrorism squad told AP that the letter carried a symbol frequently used by Italian anarchists.
The evacuations came amid rising U.S. concern over intercepted communications between Al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri in Pakistan and the top Al Qaeda figure in Yemen, Nasser Wuhayshi, over apparent plans to launch an attack.
About 19 diplomatic posts remained closed Tuesday as the U.S. Air Force flew dozens of American diplomats and other embassy personnel out of Yemen due to the apparent danger. Britain also announced it was temporarily evacuating its embassy staff in Yemen.
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