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Al-Qaeda hijacking team deployed in US
Al Qaeda has deployed operatives to hijack planes and fly them into targets in an echo of the September 11 attacks and is looking at derailing trains possibly carrying hazardous material, according to a top US intelligence official. Robert Hutchings, chairman of the National Intelligence Council which reports to the CIA director, did not give details of the plots but provided the most recent public outline from an intelligence official of the al Qaeda threat. "Soft targets, including the US stock market, banks, major companies, and tall buildings are a primary focus of active al Qaeda planning," he said. Those targets are seen as easier to hit than US government buildings and major infrastructure, which have higher security, Hutchings said. Al Qaeda has looked at derailing trains, perhaps carrying hazardous materials, to attack US interests, he said. Nuclear power plants, water treatment facilities, and other public utilities are high on al Qaedaâs target list, he said. The US government is concerned that al Qaeda will try to take its ability to build truck bombs as demonstrated by past attacks in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, and marry it with toxic or radioactive material to increase the damage and psychological impact of an attack. "My biggest worry, however, is how far al Qaeda might have progressed in being able to deploy a chemical, nuclear, or biological weapon against the United States or its allies," he said. US authorities have found several examples of al Qaeda adjusting its tactics to circumvent increased airline security, Hutchings said, without providing details. "Although we have disrupted several airline plots, we have not eliminated the threat to airplanes," he said. "There are still al Qaeda operatives who we believe have been deployed to hijack planes and fly them into key targets." US authorities have succeeded in disrupting the network, Hutchings said. "We have disrupted scores of plots at home and abroad -- plots that were audacious in terms of the numbers of attacks under consideration and their global scope," he said. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-02-17 |
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