A U.S. flag flies in front of the Annex I building inside the compound of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad in this December 14, 2011, file photo. The State Department travel alert was based on the same intelligence that prompted it to close 21 U.S. embassies and consulates this Sunday, chiefly those in the Muslim world, a U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, August 2, 2013. The embassies in the following countries will be closed: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/Files (IRAQ – Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY SOCIETY)