US officials acknowledged the interception of messages last week from al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri ordering al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack Western interests as early as Aug. 4. The State Department added Rwanda, Burundi, Madagascar, and Mauritius to the list of countries where US diplomatic missions have been closed due to the al Qaeda threat. The State Dept. is reevaluating a previous assessment that downplayed the degree of Iranian support for terrorist activity in Latin America.
