FBI Seeks Six Israeli Terror Suspects
Men Were Planning To Bomb Nuclear Power Plant
11/1/01 4:20:18 PM
London Times
London, England -- THURSDAY NOVEMBER 01 2001
FBI fury as men with nuclear plan escape
FROM KATTY KAY IN WASHINGTON
WITH America on top security alert, the FBI was hunting yesterday for six
men
of Middle Eastern appearance carrying plans of a nuclear power plant and
the
Trans-Alaska oil pipeline who were picked up by police in the Midwest over
the
weekend but then released. The incident is thought to be connected with
the
latest FBI alert and senior intelligence officials are furious that the
men
were set free before they could be fully questioned.
The men were travelling in two groups of three in white saloon cars when
they
were pulled over by police officers in the Midwest, according to the
Knight
Ridder News Service. Security officials have refused to disclose further
details.
The men were searched and questioned and the state officers discovered
detailed
plans and photographs of a nuclear power plant in Florida, along with box
cutters — the weapons used in the September 11 attacks — and other
equipment.
The men, who appeared to be of Middle Eastern origin and held Israeli
passports, were then interviewed by immigration officials. When their
passports
and visas were found to be in order the officers, who were not aware of
the
country’s imminent security alert, let the men go without first calling in
the
FBI to question them more thoroughly.
It is not clear why the men were pulled over in the first place nor why
intelligence officers were not given a chance to interview them. Agents
suspect
that the men will by now have switched cars and tried to flee the country,
possibly to Canada.
Intelligence officials were especially concerned about the nuclear plant
details. America’s nuclear facilities received special attention in the
latest
FBI alert. The men were also carrying plans of the 800-mile Trans-Alaska
pipeline, which delivers 17 per cent of America’s oil.
There are three nuclear facilities in Florida, which have now been advised
to
step up security. One of the plants has called in local police as an extra
security precaution.
The news came as the US banned private flights near US nuclear facilities
for
the next ten days, in connection with the warning of another terrorist
attack,
and National Guard troops were deployed at nuclear power plants in three
southern states. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered the nation’s
103
nuclear power plants to increase security.
At a time when police have unprecedented powers to arrest and detain
people who
are merely suspected of having links to terrorist activities, the release
of
these six men has infuriated the FBI.
The incident suggests a dangerous lack of co-ordination between different
law
enforcement bodies. Under America’s new anti-terrorist laws, police can
hold
someone almost indefinitely on charges of being a “material witness” to
terrorism.
Canada announced that it had given the US important intelligence about
another
possible imminent terrorist attack. Canadian secret services intercepted
telephone calls and e-mails from al-Qaeda operatives in Canada that
referred to
a major event taking place “down south” this week.
Law enforcement officials said that the US military intercepted numerous
other
calls leading up to the alert, which all used the same coded phrases. The
FBI
received intelligence about the new threat on Monday.
Copyright 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd. This service is provided on Times
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