The US government on Wednesday lowered the national terror alert from the second highest level to the middle level of a five-color alert system, suggesting the threat of terrorism linked to the war in Iraq has abated.
The level was reduced from "orange," meaning high risk of terrorist attacks, to "yellow," marking an elevated status, said Brian Roehrkasse, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.
The conclusion of major fighting in Iraq as well as several other factors led to a decision to lower the alert level, Roehrkasse said.
The threat level was raised to orange, the level lower only than red, on March 17, two days before the United States launched the war against Iraq. That was the third time the Bush administration had raised the terror alert since the system had been put in place early last year.
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2003)
|