In Afghanistan, he says, he was held for five months and tortured, before being released without charge after it was discovered that he had been confused with an al-Qaeda suspectof the same name.
"Security authorities suspect that three of al Qaeda's most dangerous operatives -- Ammar Ubadah al-Waeli, Ayeth Jaber al-Shebwani, Saleh al-Tayes -- may have been also eliminated, " the embassy said.
American authorities appear to have raised their threat level as a wartime precaution, rather than in response to a specific threat, though the Federal Bureau of Investigation gave warning last week that a particularly dangerous al-Qaeda suspect is on the loose and may try to slip into the country.