OTTAWA -- Canadian officials are warning against all travel to Libya, particularly the Benghazi region, and urging all Canadian citizens to leave the area due to the possibility of terrorist attacks against Westerners.

"Terrorist attacks could occur at any time and could target areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers," Foreign Affairs advises on its website. "Canadians in Benghazi are urged to leave immediately."

On Thursday the U.K.'s Foreign Office issued a warning to British nationals to leave the area immediately, quoting "a specific, imminent threat to Westerners in Benghazi."

They declined to offer details on the nature of the threat.

Earlier this week, the New York Times quoted a senior Algerian official saying, "several Egyptian members of the squad of militants that lay bloody siege to an Algerian gas complex last week also took part in the deadly attack on the United States Mission in Libya in September."

The U.S. state department also strongly advises American citizens against non-essential travel to Libya.