Federal agents and local police are stepping up their efforts to prevent possible terror attacks during the Fourth of July holiday.
The FBI asked local law enforcement agencies Friday to be on the lookout for terrorists who may be plotting to use fuel tankers in attacks against Jewish neighborhoods and synagogues, according to an FBI advisory obtained by NBC News.
"The FBI received uncorroborated information indicating that terrorists may be interested in using fuel-tanker trucks for attacks in the US, or against US interests overseas," said the advisory, which was not released to the public. "Targets are unknown. However, reporting indicates the possible targeting of fuel depots or Jewish schools or synagogues."
A White House official said on condition of anonymity that the alert did not change the nation's threat condition, which remained at yellow, the third of five levels the administration introduced after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"This does not mean that people should not go to school or to synagogue or that truckers should not go to work," the official said.
AL-QAIDA, TALIBAN SOURCES CITED
A federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the warning was based not on a specific threat but on interviews with captured al-Qaida and Taliban fighters who indicated that such a plot had been discussed.
The Homeland Security Office approved the message before it was sent, officials said. The FBI's 56 field offices also were made aware of the advisory.
The FBI has initiated several nationwide efforts to disrupt possible terrorist plots in recent weeks.
FBI agents have been contacting hundreds of scuba-diving shops out of concern that the next wave of terrorist attacks could be carried out by divers.
The FBI said it was looking into whether al-Qaida operatives had been taking scuba training in order to blow up ships at anchor, power plants, bridges, depots or other waterfront targets.
(China Daily June 22, 2002)
