Most US embassies to reopen Sunday

The U.S. State Department said Friday that 18 of the 19 U.S. embassies and consulates closed this month due to worries about potential terrorist attacks will reopen Sunday.

The U.S. Embassy in the Yemeni capital, however, will remain closed, according to State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki. The U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, which was shuttered Thursday because of what officials say was a separate threat, also was not scheduled to reopen.

"Our embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, will remain closed because of ongoing concerns about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks emanating from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," Psaki said.

"We will continue to evaluate the threats to Sanaa and Lahore and make subsequent decisions about the reopening of those facilities based on that information," Psaki said.

On Aug. 2, the U.S. shut 19 embassies in the Middle East and North Africa, saying it had picked up information through surveillance and other means about unspecified terrorist threats. It later said the missions would remain closed through August 10.

A worldwide alert said that al-Qaeda could be planning attacks in the Middle East and North Africa and discouraged Americans from traveling to mostly Muslim-dominant countries through August.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government this week warned its citizens to avoid traveling to Pakistan, while some U.S. diplomats from Yemen were evacuated and American citizens were told to leave the country immediately.

President Barack Obama declined to comment on reports of drone strikes in Pakistan that targeted suspected fighters in that country during a White House press conference.

The State Department did not indicate when its facilities in Sanaa and Lahore might reopen, saying it will continue to evaluate the "threats."

Al Jazeera and wire services