Terror 'brain' had new US targets says CIA

The CIA believes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged September 11 mastermind, was planning new attacks on the United States.

Newsweek magazine yesterday reported it had obtained an intelligence report dated February 26 which revealed that Khalid, known to counter-terrorism officers as "The Brain" or "KMS", was "actively involved in al Qaeda attack planning" in the United States.

The report said: "He has directed operatives to target bridges, gas stations, and power plants in a number of locations, including New York City."

Some of this intelligence came from an arrested al Qaeda operative, who told investigators that Mohammed had planned to blow up bridges and petrol stations in New York and Washington as part of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

Though those attacks did not come off, Mohammed intended to return to finish the job, Newsweek said.

The plan involved al Qaeda operatives stealing or hijacking tanker trucks and crashing them into fuel pumps at petrol stations.

Other operatives would sever the suspension cables on bridges.

These threats, as well as other leads from electronic intercepts and suspicious financial transactions, led White House officials to raise the threat level three weeks ago.

The danger signal was reduced last week, the day before Mohammed was snatched, but Administration officials predicted that it would go up again if the United States went to war with Iraq.

Mohammed's arrest has given US intelligence a treasure trove of information.

Computers, disks, cellphones and documents were seized at the home in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, where he was found.

Authorities believe the material will give names, locations and potential terrorist plots of al Qaeda cells in the US and around the world.

US officials also believe Mohammed knows details about the group's finances.

"It could be the mother lode of information that leads to the inner workings of al Qaeda," one official said.

Officials said the 37-year-old would be subjected to "extreme pressure" to force him to talk, though this would stop short of torture.

Interrogators believe that the next 48 hours will be crucial in squeezing Mohammed for information.

Some unnamed officials said they believed he would be subjected to round-the-clock interrogations, sleep deprivation, psychological manipulation, exposure to bitter cold or intense heat, and "truth drugs" in an effort to make him speak.

Mohammed is suspected of trying to send deputies into the United States at least twice since September 11, 2001, officials said.

US security chiefs expect his arrest will lead to a flurry of email and cellphone traffic among al Qaeda members.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "We are hoping that this will lead to additional information on al Qaeda, on al Qaeda's plans and al Qaeda's operations."

- INDEPENDENT, AGENCIES