WASHINGTON - An American cell of the al Qaeda network was close to carrying out another terror attack on a key United States target in the aftermath of September 11 but was disrupted by the FBI, it was claimed yesterday.
The cell was planning to hit a target in Washington - possibly the famous Capitol building - but its members were forced to go to ground or else flee the country after an FBI sweep.
The claim in Newsweek magazine comes against a backdrop of concern in the country about the possibility of another attack, a worry that has increased as the US has launched its military campaign against Osama bin Laden.
The FBI has issued three security alerts since September 11. On each occasion - the most recent two weeks ago - the FBI said the alert was general rather than specific and that there was no information about targets.
It is believed, however, that the hijacked United Airlines flight 93 that crashed in rural Pennsylvania may have been intended to strike the Capitol, before passengers tackled the hijackers.
The magazine quotes unnamed US security sources who say the disrupted, post-September 11 attack was being planned by a so-called al Qaeda sleeper cell. This plan was allegedly disrupted by the FBI's sweep of visa violators and other suspects of Middle Eastern background, which picked up members of an al Qaeda support group.
The group would have provided logistical support and equipment for others to carry out the attack.
As a result of the support group being picked up, the other members were forced to go to ground. While the authorities believed that they had disrupted the support cell, investigators had not been able to identify the plotters from among the hundreds of people detained by the FBI and were not even sure they were still in custody, Newsweek said.
There was no official comment yesterday on these reports. The US Attorney-General, John Ashcroft, has said, however, that a number of the 650 or more people who are facing criminal or immigration charges after being picked up by the anti-terror sweep were al Qaeda members.
The Deputy Secretary of Defence, Paul Wolfowitz, said yesterday that despite the efforts of law enforcement agencies, it was believed that al Qaeda members were still at large within the US.
The magazine also claimed that bin Laden ensured his network was protected by plying his Taleban hosts with money and gifts. He often handed out $US50,000 to this commander, or $US10,000 to that commander, said Mullah Alhaj Khaksar, a senior Taleban defector. And he would bring 20 or 30 cars from Kandahar as presents just before an offensive.
Western intelligence agencies estimate that bin Laden funnelled as much as $US100 million ($240 million) a year to the Taleban - twice Afghanistan's annual budget.
- INDEPENDENT
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FBI foiled fresh terrorist attack in US
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