Some Muslim groups in Nigeria took to the streets to protest Qasem Soleimani’s death. During their protest, they had a banner with the words, “Death to America. Death to Israel”, burning a US flag during the protest which held in Abuja.

The statement reads: “The British High Commission is not aware of specific threats against British nationals but you should continue to avoid large crowds and public demonstrations as they can turn violent unexpectedly and at short notice. If you become aware of any nearby unrest or disturbances, you should leave the area immediately”.

This move was initiated to possibly shoot down Iranian drones as intelligence mounted about a threat of an imminent attack against US targets, two US officials tell CNN.

The alert reflects the heightened tensions between the US and Iran in the wake of last week’s US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani.

US officials have claimed the strike against the general was carried out to prevent an “imminent” attack in the region that would have put American lives at risk, but have so far declined to provide details about the intelligence.

US intelligence also has observed Iran moving military equipment, including drones and ballistic missiles, over the last several days.

US officials said the movement may be an Iranian effort to secure its weapons from a potential US strike, or put them in positions to launch their own attacks.

“There were indications that we needed to monitor the threats” even more closely than is already being done, one of the US officials said, referring to Monday night’s state of heightened alert.

The second official described it as “all Patriot batteries and forces in the area on high alert” against an “imminent attack threat.”

Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force unit, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), were among those killed in the attack at Baghdad International Airport on Friday, January 3rd the PMF said in a statement.

In a statement, the Pentagon said the US had taken “decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad” by killing Soleimani, who heads what the US describes as a foreign terrorist organization.

Part of the statement read “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world. Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”