Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Australia and Canada closed their
embassies in the Jordanian capital Amman today until further
notice, a day after the U.K. shut its embassy there on concern
about future terrorist attacks in the country.
The Australian embassy in Amman left a recorded message on
its telephone saying it would be closed due to ``the security
situation.'' The Canadian embassy left a voice message saying it
was closed until further notice, without citing a reason.
``Terrorists may be in the final stages of planning attacks
against Westerners and places frequented by Westerners,'' the
U.K.'s Foreign Office said yesterday when announcing the closure
of the British Embassy in the Jordanian capital.
Three suicide bombers on Nov. 9 killed 60 people
and injured almost 100 in hotels in Amman, the U.K. statement
said. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of the al-
Qaeda in Iraq group, said in a statement on the Internet his
followers carried out the attacks.
Canada's foreign affairs office said in a travel advisory on
its Web site, updated today, that ``travellers should exercise
caution'' as Jordan remains susceptible to ``international
terrorism.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mahmoud Kassem in Cairo at
mkassem1@bloomberg.net ; David Rosenberg in Jerusalem at
drosenberg1@bloomberg.net