US steps up security at several embassies

The new US ambassador to Austria, Theodore Cummings, was under around-the-clock marine guard Wednesday as part of stepped-up security to counter any Libyan terror campaign against American diplomats.

Austrian police confirmed that they too had increased security around the embassy. The confirmation came after Vienna's two leading newspapers ran banner headlines about possible threats.

The newspapers said Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi planned to attack US embassies in Vienna, London, Paris, and Rome in retaliation for the downing of two Libyan planes by American jets last summer.

An embassy spokesman said the heightened security started right after the Libyan planes were downed.