U.S. Gulf forces placed on Con Delta alert

WASHINGTON Ñ The United States has ordered its ships out of ports and placed troops on the highest alert in the Gulf amid reports of Islamic plans to attack American installations in the region.

The threat was termed as Con Delta, which describes an imminent attack. The threat prompted a decision to send to sea six naval vessels from the U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in the Bahraini capital of Manama.

U.S. officials said the threat is connected to the indictment on Thursday of 14 Islamic suspects in the 1996 Khobar bombing in Saudi Arabia.

They said Washington believes the attack could come from Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden has threatened to attack Israeli and U.S. targets.

In Jordan, a U.S. Marine Corps contingent in Jordan ended a training exercise with Jordanian troops because of the alert. The 2,200 marines were ordered to leave Jordan immediately.

The State Department also issued a "worldwide caution" and closed embassies in the Gulf and in Africa. In Turkey, security measures were increased at a southern base used by U.S. and British warplanes to monitor the no-fly zone in northern Iraq.

The indictment against the 13 Saudi and Lebanese nationals in connection with the Khobar bombing blamed Iran for sponsoring the attack. Iran has dismissed this assertion.

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz did not confirm the charges in the indictment. He said Riyad Ñ which in April signed a security pact with Iran Ñ is responsible for the investigation into Khobar.

"This issue concerns Saudi Arabia alone," Prince Sultan said. "The American side should send all the documents, complete proof and a list of the names of the accused to us because only the Saudi authorities are concerned with this case."