WASHINGTON - The FBI yesterday warned United States law enforcement agencies that al Qaeda may be planning an attack against US interests.
In an alert sent to agencies across the US, the FBI said statements from al Qaeda suggested an attack might have been approved, but it did not know when, where or how.
"Our concerns are heightened by comments from al Qaeda detainees who are independently interpreting these taped remarks as a sign of attack," the FBI said.
The warning mentioned the audio message from Osama bin Laden broadcast by al-Jazeera television on Monday, which referred to the targeting of key sectors of the US economy. It also pointed out that bin Laden's senior deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, repeated the threat in a taped interview released on Wednesday.
"One senior detainee maintains that al Qaeda would only release such a statement after approving a specific plan for an attack," it said.
The FBI warned law enforcement officials to take extra steps to "detect, disrupt, deter and defend against potential attacks" against critical infrastructure and installations. However, the threat level would remain at "yellow" because there were no specifics on the method, target or timing.
The voice on a tape broadcast by Qatar's al-Jazeera television appears to be that of senior al Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri.
It suggests he was alive as recently as a couple of weeks ago.
Zawahiri said al Qaeda had carried out attacks on French and German targets and that bin Laden was alive.
In May, an attack on a bus in Pakistan killed 11 French naval engineers, and in April a blast at a synagogue in Tunisia killed 21 people, including 14 German tourists. Both attacks have been linked to al Qaeda.
Another tape that al-Jazeera said was the voice of bin Laden warned that any attack against the Muslim world would be repaid "twofold" and vowed more attacks on America.
"The tapes are believed to contain the actual voices of bin Laden and Zawahri. In the case of the bin Laden tape we don't have any indication ... of when that was really made," a US official said.
In other developments yesterday:
* CBS News reported that one of the hijackers who took part in the September 11 attacks had conducted test flights near the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre in apparent preparation for them.
The report said the test flights had been made by Hani Hanjour, who is believed to have piloted American Airlines Flight 77, which struck the Pentagon building.
* Syrian-born Enaam Arnaout, head of a US Muslim charity, was charged with helping terrorists and deceiving donors by funnelling funds to al Qaeda and other militant groups, prosecutors said.
- REUTERS
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FBI warns al Qaeda planning US attack
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