Last week Egyptian media outlets reported on the capture of Al Qaeda-linked Egyptians who had been planning suicide car bombings against the French and American embassies in Cairo. The suspects were found with 22 pounds of explosive materials. It is expected that the suspects had escaped from prison in 2011 at the beginning of the Arab Spring revolutions.

The Wall Street Journal followed up to emphasize that the plot was part and parcel of a region-wide threat. Eight months after the attacks on American diplomatic posts in Libya and Egypt, Al Qaeda continues to target Western diplomatic missions:

A planned attack against U.S. and French diplomatic targets in Egypt was wider and more precise than had been reported when Cairo authorities said last week that they detained three men in connection with it, according to intelligence cited by the U.S. officials. Earlier reports had indicated that embassies had been targeted. But the plots focused primarily on the U.S. and French ambassadors there, the current and former U.S. officials said Friday. One of the three detainees was the intended suicide bomber, these people said.

“There appear to be serious terrorist threats against U.S. embassies in North Africa and the broader Middle East,” said Seth Jones, an al Qaeda specialist at the Rand Corp. and a former adviser to the U.S. military. “It shows that terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, remain very active. They have flourished in a political vacuum in several of these countries.”

On Saturday, an unsuccessful attack was reported near the Greek embassy in Tripoli, Libya.

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