Chechen terrorist report sparks fears of US Beslan

A TEAM of Chechen terrorists, possibly joined by al-Qaida operatives, may have illegally entered the United States across the Mexican border, it was reported yesterday.

According to an intelligence report, 25 individuals wearing backpacks crossed the border in July, entering the US through a mountainous region in Arizona.

The news, reported by the Washington Times, will heighten fears among parents that terrorists could be attempting a repeat of the Russian school massacre in the US.

The Education Department recently advised schools to re-examine security measures in the wake of the school siege in Beslan.

According to the Washington Times, the intelligence report was supplied to the US in late August or early September and was based on information from an intelligence source that an official said has “been proved reliable in other instances”.

But a second US official said that while the report was being investigated, it was not yet clear whether the group had succeeded in entering the country.

“We don’t know whether or not that report is true,” the official told the newspaper.

Despite the renewed fears for parents, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have said they are unaware of “any specific, credible information indicating a terrorist threat to public and private schools, universities or colleges in the United States”.