FBI probe after suspicious bags found on two planes
Discovery of the bags late on Thursday night led to a government order yesterday that all US commercial flights be searched by security personnel within 24 hours, according to a senior law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity.
The items were found in bags aboard two Southwest Air Lines planes that are now on the ground in Houston and New Orleans, officials said. The bags were not found in suitcases or other luggage, but officials declined to describe the bags further.
In addition to the box cutters, the FBI found bleach and some form of clay. It was not clear if there was more than one note. The 19 al-Qaida operatives who hijacked planes and crashed them in the September 11 attacks used box cutters as weapons.
FBI spokeswoman Susan Whitson confirmed the existence of the investigation, which she said is being handled by some of the FBI’s 84 joint
terrorism task forces and the Department of Homeland Security. Al-Qaida and its affiliated terrorist groups have long had an interest in using aircraft as weapons.
The FBI and Homeland Security Department have issued numerous warnings about possible tactics terrorists could use, including use of small carry-on items such as cameras to blow up airplanes.
