MANAMA, July 3: Bahrain's prime minister said on Saturday his country was secure and able to protect residents after Washington warned of possible attacks in the Gulf state and issued a mandatory evacuation order for some US citizens.

The kingdom is home to the US Navy Fifth Fleet and a neighbour of Saudi Arabia, which has been hit by a wave of al Qaeda attacks against Westerners.

"Bahrain has been and still is an oasis of safety, security and stability ... and is capable of protecting the interests of all individuals and institutions that it hosts," said Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa.

"The country's security apparatus is capable of thwarting any attempt to target those under the protection of the state," he said in remarks carried on the official news agency BNA.

The US Defence Department issued a mandatory evacuation order on Friday for non-emergency employees and families of American military personnel due to concern about planned attacks by extremists on US and Western targets in Bahrain.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the "temporary relocation," lasting at least 30 days, after the State Department issued its advisory.

"Credible information indicates that extremists remain at large and are planning attacks in Bahrain," the advisory stated.

Earlier, American citizens were urged to consider leaving Bahrain, which is the Gulf's financial and banking hub.

It is less than two weeks since Bahrain arrested six men on suspicion of supporting Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and planning attacks in the Gulf state, but then freed them because of lack of evidence.

The US embassy in Manama gave no details about the threat in Bahrain, but mentioned the suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, which hit residential compounds.

Scores of Westerners and other foreigners - who form the bulk of the workforce in the world's top oil exporter - left Saudi Arabia for Bahrain to escape recent Al Qaeda attacks.-Reuters