The targets were in Africa, which is not far from the Middle East is the correct answer.
Al-Qaeda is a militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, along with many other Arab volunteers during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
They were responsible for 9/11 attack, and they most likely chose its first American bombing targets in Africa, which is not far from middle east, the latter being the cradle of al-Qaida.