UAE | General
Chat between drunk men sparked terror warning
A personal conversation between two drunk men in a hotel bar led the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi to issue the recent terror attack warning, Gulf News has learnt.
- By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:08 June 20, 2008
Dubai: A personal conversation between two drunk men in a hotel bar led the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi to issue the recent terror attack warning, Gulf News has learnt.
The embassy on June 14 posted a warning on its website against a terror attack in the UAE.
A diplomatic source said the warning was issued based on a personal conversation between the two Arab men in the Hemingway bar in the Hiltonia Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The bar is frequented by hundreds of Britons and Americans.
One drunk man told the other in jest: "If someone wants to scare all these people and make them run away, just say there is a bomb. A belt bomb will kill hundreds of them."
The source said it is believed that Britons sitting near the men overheard the conversation and thought it was serious.
They reported the matter to their embassy who immediately issued the terror alert. The travel advisory said: "The attacks could be indiscriminate and could happen at any time, including in places frequented by expats ... You should maintain a high level of security awareness."
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