Potential Terror Threat to U.S. Targets Overseas

The State Department is shutting down several U.S. embassies and consulates in the Middle East including, Egypt and Israel, as a major precautionary step on Sunday.

One senior U.S. Official told CNN, the decision was made due to “more than the usual chatter about a potential terrorist threat,” reports CNN’s Barbara Starr.

“From Egypt, where nearly a year ago violent protests threatened the embassy in Cairo, to Tel Aviv, Cairo, Baghdad, Riyadh, Doha, Qatar, all embassies that would have ‘normally been open on Sunday’ are being shut down.”

The question now is the source of the threat.

Starr says, “this may be best thought of as an al Qaeda-inspired threat trying to lead to more attacks across the region.”

Follow along at CNN.com as the story develops.