US embassy in Abu Dhabi urges Americans to beware more terror attacks: Shaken US expats advised to ‘vary routines and schedules’ as UAE continues investigation into stabbing murder by veiled woman who planted bomb. The US diplomatic mission to the United Arab Emirates has warned American citizens to remain wary of further terror attacks after a school teacher was stabbed to death in a shopping mall and a bomb left outside the house of an American family. In a statement released on Friday, the US embassy in Abu Dhabi said it was “engaged at the senior-most levels of the UAE government to ensure the safety and security of US citizens in the UAE.” The statement advised US citizens to take precautions for their security. “We suggest that all US citizens be vigilant of their surroundings and events unfolding around them,” the statement said. “Vary your routines and schedules”. Romanian-born Ibolya Ryan, 47, who had become an American citizen and trained as a teacher in the US, died on Thursday after she was attacked by a veiled woman with a butcher’s knife in a public toilet at the Boutik Mall in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital. The attacker then left a primitive homemade bomb outside the house of a 46-year-old Egyptian-American doctor. The device, which contained gas cylinders and nails, was deactivated before it could explode. A female UAE citizen has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out both attacks. The episodes have disconcerted the large expatriate population in the UAE, where violent crime remains rare. Boutik Mall is part of a development on Reem Island, an area that has attracted many expatriates in part because of its security. “This could have been any one of us,” said said one British woman, who added that she now plans to relocate. “In the UAE there are no crimes like this, so we all let our guard down,” she said. “Now we have to put it back up again.” A minute’s silence was observed at a small ceremony in tribute to Ryan, held at the mall on Friday. But afterwards, the shopping centre was abuzz with speculation and anxiety among expatriates. Hala Khalaf, a Canadian who lives in the building that houses the Boutik Mall, said that several of her friends had decided to leave the country. “We were hoping that it was not a random killing,” Khalaf said. “Everyone is so upset that it was.” Police say that in both incidents the Americans were targeted because of their nationality. According to a Boutik Mall employee who has spoken to criminal investigation unit officers in Abu Dhabi, the suspect pretended to be an elderly woman in need of Ryan’s assistance to use the handicapped toilet. The suspect spoke for a while with Ryan to ascertain her nationality, he said. When Ryan eventually went to help her, the suspect pushed her inside the toilet cubicle and stabbed her in the chest. The mall employee said other women inside the toilet, including another mall employee, immediately fled. Ryan dragged herself from the toilet to the main concourse before collapsing in a pool of blood. It remains unclear whether or not the attacker acted alone or in league with a larger group, but some have applauded the attacks on social media sites under the hashtag “the epic of Dabiq” – the site of a battle to be fought between Muslims and infidels before Judgement Day, according to Islamic tradition. Islamic State (Isis) has said the US-led coalition against it, of which the UAE is a strong member, is a sign that the Dabiq battle will soon take place. theguardian/world/2014/dec/05/abu-dhabi-murder-american-bomb-stabbing-terror
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 15:15:03 +0000
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