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The US government warned Americans late Wednesday to be on the lookout for new terrorist strikes against US interests overseas because of the approaching execution in the United States of a Pakistani-born Islamic radical.

Mir Aimal Kansi, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for his 1993 killing of two Central Intelligence Agency employees, is scheduled to die by lethal injection in the US state of Virginia on November 14.

In a worldwide caution, the State Department said the upcoming execution created the potential for retaliatory acts against the United States or its foreign interests.

"The US government continues to receive credible indications that extremist groups and individuals are planning additional terrorist actions against US interests," the department said. "Such actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations."

The warning follows last month's killing in Amman, Jordan, of US Agency for International Development official Laurence Foley, who was gunned down at point blank range outside his home.

A US Marine was killed and another was wounded in Kuwait in early October when two alleged Muslims extremists opened fire at them during US military exercises on Failaka island.

And, more than 180 people, including Americans, lost their lives in the October 12 nightclub bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, which are blamed on associates of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

As a result of these attacks and other unidentified security threats, the United States remains on "yellow", or elevated, terrorism alert status.

But the State Department warned that because security inside the United States had been stepped up, terrorists may choose to target Americans or US facilities overseas.

"Terrorist groups do not distinguish between official and civilian targets," the caution said. "There is a possibility that American citizens may be targeted for kidnapping or assassination."

Other potential targets could include residential areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, outdoor recreation events or resorts and beaches and other facilities where Americans, or foreigners in general, are known to congregate, according to the department.

It said embassies and consulates overseas may temporarily close or suspend public services due to the new security concerns and urged American travelers to remain vigilant and exercise caution.

The 1997 trial and subsequent sentencing of Kansi have sparked protests in the Muslim world, despite overwhelming evidence against him.

A son of a wealthy Pakistani family, Kansi worked in the Washington area as a courier while waiting for his asylum application to be processed by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.

He used a Chinese-made AK-47 assault rifle to shoot dead Lansing Bennett, 66, and Frank Darling, 28, as they sat in their cars in traffic outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, according to court documents. Three other people were wounded.

The killer, a known critic of US Middle East policy, fled the scene of his crime but was apprehended during a daring raid on a Pakistani hotel by a Federal Bureau of Investigation team in June 1997. 

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