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'No imminent al-Qaeda attack'
02/07/2007 17:35 - (SA)
Washington - Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff on Monday played down a report that al-Qaeda
was planning a spectacular attack on the United States, saying
there was no credible information about an imminent threat.
As British police investigated two failed car bombs in
London and a fiery attack on Glasgow's airport by a fuel-filled
vehicle, US officials tightened security at transport hubs
without raising the country's overall alert level.
"We do not currently have any specific threat information
that is credible about a particular attack on the United
States," Chertoff told Fox News.
ABC News, quoting a senior US official, said on Sunday a
secret law enforcement report prepared for the Department of
Homeland Security warned that al-Qaeda planned to carry out a
spectacular attack this summer.
"This is reminiscent of the warnings and intelligence we
were getting in the summer of 2001," ABC quoted the
unidentified official as saying.
The United States has been on heightened alert since the
September 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaeda using hijacked airliners.
Britain is also a target for Islamic militants for its role as
Washington's ally in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Further attacks
"Al-Qaeda and its affiliates do intend to carry out further
attacks against the United States and the West," Chertoff
said.
"We also know that they tend to want to do attacks that are
spectacular or high-profile, so it's not surprising to have
analysts comment on the fact that this kind of an attack is a
very definite possibility," he said.
"But again I want to say that's more general analysis that
is not based on a specific piece of information about a
particular attack."
Chertoff had made similar comments in interviews on Sunday
about the possibility of a specific security threat to the
United States.
British authorities have linked the three incidents late
last week to al-Qaeda and detained seven people as part of an
investigation that police say is likely to yield more arrests.
"I wouldn't rule al-Qaeda out," Chertoff said.
"We have seen, however, different kinds of attacks.
Sometimes there are al-Qaeda-affiliated groups that use
different methods than what we might call core al-Qaeda."
The great lesson from the British plots, he said, was the
two London attacks were foiled partly because people saw
something suspicious and alerted the authorities.
"We are in very close contact with British authorities and
have been since this whole episode began a few days ago,"
Chertoff said.
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