The suspects in a terrorist plot targeting lower Manhattan hoped to unleash a catastrophic flood by destroying a huge underground wall that keeps Hudson River water out of the World Trade Center site, two law enforcement officials said Thursday. It was unclear how the suspects hoped to bring down the so-called slurry wall, which was quietly put under 24-hour police protection in recent weeks once details of the plot began to emerge, the officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the scheme was still under investigation.A yearlong investigation had revealed that the eight suspects "specifically wanted to take out the slurry wall in hopes of flooding the financial district," one of the officials said. The vulnerability of the wall - viewed each day by hundreds of tourists visiting ground zero - became a concern for law enforcement and engineers following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The FBI and police did not mention the retaining wall as a target last week while confirming reports that plotters envisioned an attack in the fall on rapid transit tunnels, which run under the river and connect to the Trade Center site. The plot also allegedly involved suicide bombers on trains. The FBI and NYPD declined comment Thursday.