The State Department late Friday warned that Americans abroad could be the target of a "terrorist threat" by associates of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, reported CNN.
The warning came on the same day a jury in New York completed its first full day of deliberations in the trial stemming from the August 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Four defendants in that case are charged with participating in a conspiracy to kill Americans and to destroy US property that was allegedly led by Bin Laden, a wanted fugitive in the case.
The State Department did not elaborate on what information it had received or if the threats had any relation to the ongoing terrorism trial, said CNN.
"The US government has learned that American citizens abroad may be the target of a terrorist threat from extremist groups with links to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization," the State Department said.
"US citizens are urged to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness to reduce their vulnerability. Americans should maintain a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel, and treat mail and packages from unfamiliar sources with suspicion," the warning said.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Colin Powell testified before a congressional panel, telling them that the State Department was "constantly watching the trends and watching the intelligence to judge when such public announcements and travel warnings are necessary."
The State Department warning said that in the past, the extremist groups "have not distinguished between official and civilian targets" in their threats.
US government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert, the statement said, and some of those facilities may close or suspend operations if the need arises, said CNN.
During Friday’s trial, the court’s federal judge ordered the US government to turn over to the defense records of any secret deals that it has made with certain informants who have agreed to cooperate in the investigation of Bin Laden, reported the New York Times newspaper.
The order covers people who were members of what the government calls “Bin Laden's terrorist conspiracy.”
The broad ruling by Judge Leonard B. Sand of the Federal District Court in Manhattan, which came over the strong objections of prosecutors, also covers any such deals made with foreign governments that American prosecutors are aware of, said the paper.
The order covers an agreement struck with a former American Army sergeant, Ali A. Mohamed, who pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy last year and admitted that he scouted out the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, as a potential bombing target, and later watched as Bin Laden looked at a photograph "and pointed to where a truck could go as a suicide bomber."
The terms of Mohamed's deal with the government and the sentence he may receive in return for any cooperation have never been made public, said the paper.
Judge Sand's ruling came as the jury in the bombings trial of four defendants completed its first full day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.
The jury sent the judge a note Friday, seeking more exhibits, including telephone records and other documents.
The paper said that issue of the plea agreements would arise only if the jury convicted two defendants who could face the death penalty.
All four defendants are charged with conspiring with Bin Laden in a global terrorism plot to kill Americans, which prosecutors say included the bombings of the embassies in Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The bombings killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.
Lawyers for the two defendants who could face execution - Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, 27, and Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al 'Owhali, 24 - said that they wanted to determine whether there were deals with other followers of Bin Laden who may have been equally or more culpable in the bombings or broader terrorism conspiracy, and yet face far lesser penalties.
Prosecutors argued that the request was too broad, but Judge Sand disagreed, the paper added.
He said that if the government had entered into such agreements, then "the defendants should have the opportunity to consider whether to present to the jury the possible disparity in treatment of equally culpable people."
Prosecutors have maintained absolute secrecy over deals they have struck in their lengthy investigation of Bin Laden and his organization, Al Qaeda.
In one example, prosecutors finally revealed that one such informant, Jamal Ahmed Al Fadl, had pleaded guilty and begun to cooperate several years ago, according to the paper.
Previously, he was described in the indictment only as CS-1, or confidential source, said the paper – Albawaba.com
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