"It remains unclear whether JMB, despite its recent setbacks, retains the ability to launch new attacks", the public announcement said.

The US Embassy advised all Americans in or travelling to Bangladesh to take extra care and precaution while going out in public and to be cognisant of the current situation. "American citizens in Bangladesh should remain vigilant, especially if visiting courts or municipal government offices", it noted.

The announcement that will remain valid till September 21 this year was issued to alert US citizens to recent events related to the security situation in Bangladesh.

On March 12, the Peace Corps decided to suspend indefinitely its program in Bangladesh due to concern that JMB elements are still at large and might attempt to attack Peace Corps volunteers in Bangladesh, perhaps in retaliation for the capture of JMB leaders. Consequently, all Peace Corps volunteers have departed Bangladesh.

It said the US Embassy received several plausible but unsubstantiated threat reports involving the Peace Corps in Bangladesh. "However, the decision to suspend the program followed a careful assessment of Bangladesh's broader security environment, and was not based on any single threat or incident," it added.

The announcement mentioned that an outlawed Islamist terrorist organisation, JMB, claimed responsibility for a series of bombings and suicide attacks in Bangladesh between August and December 2005 that killed approximately 30 Bangladeshis and wounded nearly 200.

It said JMB leaflets called for the implementation of strict Islamic law in Bangladesh, justified the use of indiscriminate suicide attacks, and condemned Western social and political concepts as un-Islamic.

They also identified the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom as enemies of Islam. Newspapers and Bangladeshi non-government organisations, which receive funding from the United States government, have received threats purportedly from JMB. No Americans were killed or wounded in any of the attacks.

US citizens planning to travel to Bangladesh should consult the Department of State's Consular Information Sheet for Bangladesh and the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, it said.