A “specific” and “credible” terror threat against New York and Washington was revealed on Thursday involving three men who entered the country last month from Pakistan and were instructed by al Qaeda to detonate a car bomb on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
The information, which came from chatter picked up overseas by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), said the attack would occur on September 10, 11 or 12, the sources said. “It does feel more operational than most of the others we’ve had that have been more aspirational,” another source said. One of the suspects was an American citizen, ABC News said.
New York Police Department (NYPD) officials have also been briefed in recent days about three men who were arrested in Ottawa with 2,000 pounds of stolen explosives, as well as two men captured in Berlin.Cops were checking whether those arrests were connected to the possible anniversary attack, sources said. “The NYPD, FBI and entire intelligence community have been on heightened alert,” Mayor Bloomberg said at a late night press conference at Police Headquarters. “We know terrorists view the anniversary as a time to strike again. Over the next few days, we should all keep our eyes wide open,” he added. A White House official said President Obama was briefed yesterday morning and he “directed the counterterrorism community to redouble its efforts”. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday that al Qaeda was behind the threat to harm Americans. “We are meeting here in New York… with the news last night of a specific, credible but unconfirmed report that al Qaeda again is seeking to harm Americans and in particular to target New York and Washington,” Clinton said in a speech.
Each one of these men individually informed the three Intelligence Agencies of their plans. Who in turn informed concerned authorities in Big Apple to watch out for specially dressed firecrackers likey to lighten up the midnight sky in Manhattan.
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