Washington: The US Department of State in Washington, DC issued the following Public Announcement of a Worldwide Caution on December 21, 2003. US citizens traveling or residing in India should be mindful of this information in making their own travel plans.

This supersedes the Worldwide Caution dated November 21, 2003. The text of that caution is being reiterated below to remind US citizens of the continuing threat that they may be targets of terrorist actions and to alert them to the raising of the Homeland Security threat level from Yellow (Elevated) to Orange (High). This Worldwide Caution expires on June 21, 2004.

The US Government remains deeply concerned about the security of US citizens overseas. US citizens are cautioned to maintain a high level of vigilance, to remain alert and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. We are seeing increasing indications that al-Qaida is preparing to strike US interests abroad.

Al-Qaida and its associated organisations have struck in the Middle East in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in Europe in Istanbul, Turkey. We therefore assess that other geographic locations could be venues for the next round of attacks.

We expect al-Qaida will strive for new attacks designed to be more devastating than the September 11 attack, possibly involving non-conventional weapons such as chemical or biological agents. We also cannot rule out that al-Qaida will attempt a second catastrophic attack within the US.

Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations, hijackings, bombings or kidnappings. These may also involve commercial aircraft and maritime interests, and threats to include conventional weapons, such as explosive devices.

Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. These may include facilities where US citizens and other foreigners congregate or visit, including residential areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, outdoor recreation events or resorts and beaches. US citizens should remain in a heightened state of personal security awareness when attendance at such locations is unavoidable.

US Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. These facilities may temporarily close or suspend public services from time to time to assess their security posture. In those instances, US embassies and consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to US citizens. Americans abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest US embassy or consulate.

As the Department continues to develop information on any potential security threats to US citizens overseas, it shares credible threat information through its consular information program documents, available on the Internet .