Terrorists targeting west coast bridges - FBI

The FBI has alerted law enforcement agencies in eight western states that it has unconfirmed information that terrorists may be targeting suspension bridges on the west coast.

The Justice Department issued a warning yesterday after California Governor Gray Davis said law enforcement officials had ‘‘credible evidence’’ that four California bridges, including the Golden Gate, may be the target of an attack.

The FBI, however, said in its alert that authorities had not yet corroborated the information but decided to issue a warning. The warning was sent on Wednesday to law enforcement agencies in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Montana and Idaho.

‘‘Reportedly, unspecified groups are targeting suspension bridges on the West Coast,’’ the FBI said in the message. Six ‘‘incidents’’ were planned during rush hour between today and November 7, the agency said.

Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said the information that prompted the warning was ‘‘at a lower level’’ than what led to the FBI’s general warning to Americans on Monday. ‘‘We are working to verify the validity’’ of the information, Tucker said.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the threat is based on new information acquired by US intelligence and law enforcement since Monday’s warning. The official said a foreign Islamic terrorist group may be targeting the bridges.

Davis mentioned the warning during a news conference in which he also appointed the state’s new terrorism security tsar, George Vinson, a 23-year veteran of the FBI.

‘‘The best preparation is to let terrorists know, we know what you’re up to, we’re ready for you,’’ Davis said.

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said in a telephone interview that even though federal authorities had not publicly released the information, he would not second-guess Davis’ decision to do so.

In response to the warning, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber ordered stepped-up police patrols of the state’s most heavily travelled bridges. But he said the move was only as a precaution, and said there was no reason for motorists to avoid using the bridges.

The bridges in California identified by Davis as possible targets were: the Golden Gate and Bay Bridge, both in San Francisco, the Vincent Thomas Bridge at the Port of Los Angeles, and the Coronado Bridge in San Diego.

Security around the bridges has been heightened and involves the National Guard, US Coast Guard and California Highway Patrol, he said.

The Golden Gate, a 4,200ft suspension bridge, spans the Golden Gate Strait at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. It carries some 110,000 vehicles per day.

The 4.5-mile San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge carries some 270,000 vehicles daily.

‘‘We feel we’re well-prepared for any nefarious and criminal actions,’’ said Jeff Weiss, spokesman for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. ‘‘We’re routinely inspecting the IDs of workers ... on the bridge to assure that everyone who is on the bridge belongs on the bridge.’’

Although hundreds of bomb threats have been called in to authorities about sites in California, this is only the second threat judged to be credible since the September 11 attacks, Davis said. The first targeted Los Angeles movie studios.

Several Hollywood studios halted tours and increased armed patrols following a general warning September 20 from the FBI that television and movie facilities could be targets of terrorist attacks.