Al-Qaida planning a 9/11 repeat attack, says US

Al-Qaida is still planning an attack similar to the September 11 strikes, using hijacked aircraft as missiles, the US was warned today.

And the FBI said terrorists – who might disguise themselves as women – may try to poison food or water supplies.

A Homeland Security Department advisory, issued in advance of the second anniversary of the September 11 outrages, says intelligence indicates operatives may try to hijack flights that fly near, but not into, the United States, so they will not have to pass the increasingly stringent requirements to board an America bound flight.

It also warns of truck bombs at targets like power plants, petrochemical facilities, transport hubs, dams and food distribution centres.

Lightly protected buildings like restaurants, hotels and apartments are also possible targets, it says.

Terrorists could also try unusual approaches to artfully conceal suicide devices, the advisory said.

“Male bombers may dress as females in order to discourage scrutiny.”

The FBI has not detected any individuals or cells actively planning attacks such as those almost two years ago that killed some 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Most al-Qaida operatives in the United States provide logistical support such as travel documents, recruitment and fund raising, said Larry Mefford, the FBI’s chief counterterrorism official.

“My view is, it’s very small but it does exist,” Mefford said of al-Qaida’s US presence. “Our concern continues to be what exists in the United States that we’re not aware of.”

The Homeland Security Department is advising federal, state and local security officials to evaluate their security procedures in the run-up to the September 11 anniversary, but said current

intelligence doesn’t warrant an increase in the national threat warning.

The current code yellow alert, which signifies an elevated risk of terrorist attack, is the middle level on the five-colour scale.

The Homeland Security advisory says, “We remain concerned about al-Qaida’s continued efforts to plan multiple attacks against the US and US interests overseas.”

It adds that they have no specific information on individual targets or dates for any attack.

Recent arrests of senior al-Qaida members appear to have slowed some of their operational planning, the advisory says.

The FBI’s Mefford said al-Qaida remains America’s most dangerous terrorist foe because of the group’s tenacity, patience and willingness to use tactics, including weapons of mass destruction, that demonstrate “they have no inhibitions and they have no rules.”

The FBI’s latest weekly bulletin to state and local law enforcement agencies cautions terrorists might use two naturally occurring toxins – nicotine and solanine – to poison food or water supplies.

Nicotine is found in tobacco plants and solanine in potatoes that are old or have been exposed to sunlight for a long time.

The bulletin, says that terrorist manuals and documents recovered at al-Qaida sites in Afghanistan contain references to use of both substances as poisons.

The FBI bulletin said there is no intelligence indicating that al-Qaida is planning an attack to coincide with next week’s anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Al-Qaida, the bulletin said, is not known for using such anniversaries for its attacks, preferring surprise.