U.S. Upgrades Saudi Security Warning

The United States upgraded its security warning for Saudi Arabia on Saturday, ordering its embassy staff not to leave their heavily guarded diplomatic quarters except for essential duties. The new restrictions came days after the U.S. Embassy warned that a residential compound for foreign workers could be targeted by a terror attack. A U.S. diplomat in Riyadh declined to say if the upgrade was in response to a specific terrorist threat. Separately, the U.S. and British embassies said Saturday an American and a Briton had been detained in Jiddah, but it was not clear if their arrests were linked. A state-controlled newspaper identified the American as the brother of two people who have pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiring to help al-Qaida. The new security warning restricted staff to the Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter, an area of about five square miles west of the city that the Saudi armed forces have strongly defended since suicide bombers attacked three Riyadh housing compounds for foreigners. Full Story