The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan warned the U.S. citizens in Armenia against traditional increase in crimes of opportunity such as robberies, pick-pocketing, purse snatching, and residential break-ins during the holiday season.

“During the holiday season, there are also ongoing threats posed by transnational terrorist organizations and individuals inspired by extremist ideology throughout Europe. Extremists continue to focus on tourist locations such as shopping malls, airports, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, transportation hubs, and other soft targets frequented by Westerners,” the statement says.

The Armenian National Committee of America expressed surprise in connection with this alert.

“It’s unclear why our U.S. Embassy in Yerevan would issue a security alert warning American citizens about crime in Armenia, a low-crime country and one of the safest places on the planet for American travelers (according to the State Department itself).

Even less obvious is why our Embassy would ask Americans in Armenia to be vigilant regarding “threats posed by transnational terrorist organizations and individuals,” which - by all accounts - have no history or presence in Armenia,” ANCA said.