Detailed intelligence on Osama's latest plot
MSNBC:
"New intelligence information indicates that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy personally approved the suspected terrorist attack plan that led the government to raise the nation's terror threat assessment this week, U.S. officials told NBC News on Tuesday.
"The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said U.S. intelligence agencies had gathered detailed information about the plan, in which they said al-Qaida operatives would hijack foreign airliners and fly them into targets in the United States. In some instances, the intelligence is so detailed as to include specific flight numbers, they said.
"The Defense Department said Tuesday that it was broadening air patrols throughout the country. Security forces have put several U.S. airports under intense scrutiny, the U.S. officials told NBC's Jim Miklaszewski, specifically naming Newark International Airport in New Jersey.
"Federal air marshals, who usually fly only on domestic flights, are now boarding international airlines into those airports.
...
"U.S. officials and terrorism experts said that while some of the potential targets might seem unusual, there was a method to al-Qaida’s plot
"For example, the officials said, al-Qaida seems particularly interested in Tappahannock, Va., a tiny town of 2,016 people with no military base or major infrastructure. Such an attack would be intended to generate widespread fear that no one was safe, even in small rural towns, they said.
...
"Al-Qaida remains intent on attacking large gatherings of people with chemical or biological weapons, officials told NBC News.
"Most troubling, the officials said this week, were indications that al-Qaida may already possess a radiological weapon, or so-called 'dirty bomb.' They did not elaborate."
MSNBC:
"New intelligence information indicates that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy personally approved the suspected terrorist attack plan that led the government to raise the nation's terror threat assessment this week, U.S. officials told NBC News on Tuesday.
"The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said U.S. intelligence agencies had gathered detailed information about the plan, in which they said al-Qaida operatives would hijack foreign airliners and fly them into targets in the United States. In some instances, the intelligence is so detailed as to include specific flight numbers, they said.
"The Defense Department said Tuesday that it was broadening air patrols throughout the country. Security forces have put several U.S. airports under intense scrutiny, the U.S. officials told NBC's Jim Miklaszewski, specifically naming Newark International Airport in New Jersey.
"Federal air marshals, who usually fly only on domestic flights, are now boarding international airlines into those airports.
...
"U.S. officials and terrorism experts said that while some of the potential targets might seem unusual, there was a method to al-Qaida’s plot
"For example, the officials said, al-Qaida seems particularly interested in Tappahannock, Va., a tiny town of 2,016 people with no military base or major infrastructure. Such an attack would be intended to generate widespread fear that no one was safe, even in small rural towns, they said.
...
"Al-Qaida remains intent on attacking large gatherings of people with chemical or biological weapons, officials told NBC News.
"Most troubling, the officials said this week, were indications that al-Qaida may already possess a radiological weapon, or so-called 'dirty bomb.' They did not elaborate."
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