Search the Internet          Tips  Links: Terror in America

US intelligence warns of attack on nuclear facility

American intelligence agencies have issued an internal alert that Islamist terrorists may be planning a spectacular attack to rival those of September 11, 2001, according to a report in The Washington Times.

The detailed warning was issued sometime in the last two weeks in a classified report that said a nuclear power station or one of the energy department's nuclear facilities could be a target.

The alert was based on sensitive intelligence gathered overseas that revealed discussions among suspected terrorists.

Officials familiar with the report said it contained six potential methods and targets of attack. Among them:

• A bombing or airline attack on a nuclear power plant or other nuclear facility, such as a weapons storage depot, designed to cause mass casualties and spread deadly radiological debris.
• A bombing against a warship in Bahrain, headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, where some 20 ships are based. The attack would be similar to the October 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole.
• An airliner attack on a building using a hijacked commercial jet as on September 11.
• A vehicle bombing in Yemen. Authorities in Yemen, acting on intelligence gathered by the United States in Afghanistan, recently averted a car bombing of the US embassy in San'a by finding the explosives-laden vehicle.

"What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that -- far from ending there -- our war against terror is only beginning," he said.

A defence official said on Wednesday that intelligence gained from Afghanistan had led to the thwarting of three terrorist attacks, including the arrests of terrorists in Singapore and Yemen. A third operation is "being rolled up", the official said.

"We have been getting a lot of indications [of an attack], but no specific threat information," the official said.

America's War on Terror: The Complete Coverage
The Attack on US Cities: The Complete Coverage

The Terrorism Weblog: Latest Stories from Around the World

External Link:
For further coverage, please visit www.saja.org/roundupsept11.html

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report