New York and D.C. alert as US warns of 'credible' terrorist threat
Intensified chatter on jihadist websites led the US to move to protect against a possible terrorist attack, likely focused on New York and the nation's capital, to coincide with the 9/11 anniversary.
A police officer with a bomb-sniffing dog patrols the Times Square subway station, Friday, Sept. 9, in New York. Just days before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, US counterterrorism officials are chasing a credible but unconfirmed Al Qaeda threat to use a car bomb on bridges or tunnels in New York City or Washington.
Mary Altaffer/AP
The United States is facing a “specific, credible, but unconfirmed” threat of a potential Al Qaeda attack on US soil, likely designed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to US officials.
US intelligence specialists have picked up “lots of chatter” on jihadist websites, “and we’re taking it all seriously,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday.
She also noted that 9/11 is “an iconic day to Al Qaeda” and that it’s not uncommon to see stepped-up threats of attack in conjunction with such anniversaries.
Secretary Napolitano hinted that some of the insights into this potential attack come from the cache of documents that US Special Operations Forces seized during the raid that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May. “We know it’s an iconic day to Al Qaeda in part because of what was found at the [bin Laden] compound, so we are preparing accordingly,” she said.
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