As talks aimed at averting a looming war in Somalia stalled, the United States has swiftly voiced concern over the danger of a wider conflict in the Horn of Africa region.

The warnings were issued late Thursday by the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Ethiopia which border Somalia, cautioning Americans in those countries to remain vigilant.

It said it has received terrorist threats that specifically mention the possibility of suicide bombings at prominent landmarks in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Washington which funded Mogadishu-based Somali warlords, who were later routed out of the capital by the increasingly powerful Islamists in June this year, says extremists from the lawless nation may be planning suicide attacks in the Horn of Africa.

"The U.S. has reports of terrorist threats emanating from extremist elements within Somalia, which target Kenya, Ethiopia, and other surrounding countries," the embassies said in warden messages to Americans in the two east African countries.

"These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia," the embassies said.

"American citizens are advised to remain vigilant and to use extreme caution when frequenting prominent public places," said the warnings.

U.S. officials have not identified the extremists behind the purported threats. However, U.S. State Department said in remarks received here Friday that the U.S. is concerned about terrorists in Somalia with links to outside terrorist groups.

This new warning comes amid rising concern about all-out war between the Islamists and Somalia's weak interim government, mainly due to collapse of the reconciliation talks in Khartoum, Sudan.

Both Kenya and Ethiopia back a proposed deployment of peacekeepers to Somalia to support the government. But the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) vehemently oppose that idea, and recently declared a holy war on Ethiopia, alleging it for sending troops onto Somali soil to give the government protection.

The U.S. State Department said it is doing everything it can to see that the simmering Somali conflict does not spread beyond that country's borders, and it is appealing to Somalia 's neighbors to avoid aggravating the situation.

The collapse of peace talks between Somalia 's interim government and Islamist movement has raised fears of more intense fighting in the country and the possibility that open warfare could draw in neighboring Ethiopia and Eritrea .

Ethiopia has reportedly sent troops to support the struggling transitional Somali government based in Baidoa, while Eritrea has been accused by the U.S. and others of arming the Islamic Courts movement, which controls most of the country, including the capital Mogadishu.

U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack called on Somalia 's neighbors to play a positive role in that country and not to use the situation to further destabilize the area.

The spokesman confirmed that the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Ethiopia had issued so-called warden messages to American citizens living in or visiting those countries warning them of possible terrorist attacks by extremists from Somalia .

McCormack said such advisories are issued when there is specific information about the possibility of attacks, but he provided no details.

Though he was not specific, U.S. officials have said that some figures with al-Qaida connections had been present in Mogadishu when the Islamic Courts took over the capital in June.

The Islamic movement said at the time it did not want to be seen as an enemy of the U.S. and had no intention of helping terrorists.

Somalia has been in the grip of warlords and militias for years and has not had a functioning national government since 1991.

Source: Xinhua