U.S. considers raising terror threat level
WASHINGTON (CNN) –Senior U.S. officials said Tuesday that intelligence “chatter” suggests terrorists may be planning a major attack inside the United States. One official called the intelligence “reasonably spooky stuff.” The FBI warned state and local law enforcement authorities Tuesday that the terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco “may be a prelude to another attack in the United States.” The warning was sent to police agencies nationwide on a secure telecommunications system, two senior law enforcement officials said. The problem, officials said, is separating discussion of plots that are under way from the “wishful thinking and bluster” among suspected al Qaeda members being monitored. “There is some chatter that points to the U.S.,” an official said, “but we don’t really know if it is real.” But law enforcement officials stressed that the warning also said the FBI possesses no specific threat information. The message on the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System urged local police agencies to report any suspicious activity and to remain alert to potential terrorist operations. U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials are expected to meet Tuesday at the White House to discuss whether the nation’s threat level should be raised in light of the Saudi attacks. (The U.S. threat level system) “Right now, it doesn’t appear to be anything that would lead us to raise the threat level,” the official said. Authorities say they suspect that al Qaeda was responsible for May 12’s multiple suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that killed 25 people and nine bombers. Moroccan officials said 42 people, including bombers, were killed in Friday’s attacks in Casablanca. U.S., Britain close embassies The United States announced that it was closing its embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and its consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran on Wednesday after receiving “credible information that further terrorist attacks are being planned against unspecified targets in Saudi Arabia.” (Full story) Officials have not decided when the facilities will reopen, according to an embassy statement, but officials said that it would be Sunday at the earliest. The missions are usually closed Thursdays and Fridays, according to the embassy’s Web site, and they already were scheduled to close Saturday for the Memorial Day holiday. Britain also plans to close its Riyadh embassy Wednesday, officials said. They did not say when it would reopen. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, said Monday that he believes the suicide bombers who struck Riyadh last week were planning a much bigger operation and that he fears another devastating attack. Saudi Arabia has raised its threat level to its highest point ever in response to the bombings. Four people believed to be linked to al Qaeda have been detained in connection with the Riyadh attacks, said Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef, adding that each had prior knowledge of the bombings. (Full story) Ridge says nation safer Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the nation is “significantly safer than we were 20 months ago” when he appeared Tuesday on Capitol Hill to discuss U.S. preparedness for terrorist attacks. Ridge said his department still had a lot of work to do but added it had made much progress since its creation in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. “We are safer because as a nation we are more aware of the threat of terrorism and much more vigilant in confronting it,” Ridge told the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. “We are safer because our Homeland Security professionals now have a single department leading them and our states and cities have a place to turn for financial, technical and operational support.” Iran denies hosting al Qaeda Iran again denied Tuesday that it is harboring suspected al Qaeda operatives, turning aside U.S. assertions that some members of the terror group are using the country as a base for attacks. (Full story) The U.S. government has been in communication with Iran about the presence of al Qaeda members, making it clear to the nation’s Islamic leadership that it must take more steps against terrorism, U.S. officials said Monday. Senior U.S. government sources last week told CNN that evidence suggested al Qaeda’s operation chief was in Iran and may have played a role in planning the Saudi attacks. However, on the Web site of Iran’s state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi rebutted remarks by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that al Qaeda leaders are in Iran, adding that his nation has no links to the “fundamentalist and violent” network.
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