U.S. fears attack on Cairo embassy

CAIRO — The United States has bolstered security around its embassies in the Middle East in fear of attack by Islamic terrorists.

The effort includes the U.S. embassy in Cairo, which is feared will be a priority target by terrorists amid the nearly daily anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. demonstrations in the Egyptian capital. The concern is that terrorists might be inspired by the attack on the USS Cole in Aden earlier this month.

Arab sources said one scenario is that the embassy will be attacked by either a truck bomb or a rocket-propelled grenade. They point to the 1982 bombing of the U.S. Marines headquarters outside Beirut, in which more than 240 soldiers were killed.

Currently, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has deployed guards to survey and patrol streets that lead to the installation. The guards are said to be on the look-out for suspicious trucks or people.

The sources said the United States has obtained the cooperation of Egyptian authorities. But they said U.S. diplomats are concerned authorities will not be able to stop a terrorist attack on American installations.

U.S. officials said as part of the alert in the Middle East the Pentagon has stopped U.S. naval ships from entering the Suez Canal.

Last week, the U.S. Congress approved a foreign aid bill that granted $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt. The Congress also approved $35 million to Lebanon as part of the $14.9 billion foreign aid bill.