PARIS -- Interpol has issued a global security alert in connection with suspected al Qaeda involvement in several recent prison escapes including those in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.
The Lyon, France-based international police agency says that the alert follows "the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals" in the past month. The alert calls on Interpol's 190 member countries to help determine whether these events are co-ordinated or linked, the organization said in a statement Saturday.
Interpol says it issues such alerts fairly regularly, the last one 10 days ago following jailbreaks from Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib prison and the Taji prison near Baghdad.
The alert also comes a day after the U.S. issued an extraordinary global travel warning to Americans about a possible al Qaeda attack.
The U.S. is closing 21 of its embassies and consulates in the Muslim world this weekend, while Britain, France and Germany have announced the closures of their embassies in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.
