Fears al-Qaeda plotting new attack in US

An al-Qaeda cell believed to have fled Saudi Arabia for the United States or Europe shortly before the recent Riyadh bombings has sparked fears of an imminent attack on American soil.

A high volume of "chatter" - intelligence intercepts - has intensified fears of new attacks and is close to the level of communications intercepted before the strikes against the Riyadh compounds, a high-ranking Saudi official said.

The unnamed official said there had been at least three al-Qaeda cells with about 50 hard-core operatives in the kingdom before the bombings. He acknowledged that there was a much wider circle of sympathisers and US officials broadly agreed with his analysis.

"We don't believe there are tens of thousands of active al-Qaeda members here, but we believe the al-Qaeda presence is more than a single cell or two cells," a senior US official said yesterday.

Saudi sources described the threat of further attacks in the US or Saudi Arabia as "very serious".

"I think they were looking to do something more major than [the Riyadh bombings]," Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, said on Monday.

About 377 kilograms of explosives was discovered at a safe house raided near one of the compounds a week before the attacks. The Interior Ministry said at the time it was hunting 19 men in connection with the weapons cache.

"That would have taken out two blocks in the city if it had gone off accidentally. We're all wondering if it's the last [of the explosives] or is it the tip of the iceberg," Prince bin Sultan said.

The warning came as a large explosion rocked a cafe in the centre of Turkey's capital, Ankara, early yesterday, killing one person. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. Charred metal and glass were strewn across the road outside the three-storey cafe, located in the city's main commercial district of Kizilay.

Several guerilla groups, including leftist militants and Kurdish rebels, have carried out attacks on civilian targets in Turkey during recent years.

In Morocco, the Justice Minister, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, said on Monday that no link had been established between al-Qaeda and last week's suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 41 people. In the United States, the last of the "Lackawanna Six" alleged terrorist cell pleaded guilty on Monday to providing "material support" to al-Qaeda, closing the case against the six US citizens - without any defendant standing trial or the Government having to prove that the men were part of a sleeper cell.

Instead, Mukhtar al-Bakri, 23, merely acknowledged in court that al-Qaeda instructors in Afghanistan had trained him to wage war against America and Israel, the Los Angeles Times said.

Facing a lengthy prison sentence if convicted at trial, al-Bakri, like his five comrades, chose to plead guilty to a single offence in the hope of serving less than 10 years. In return, he will co-operate in identifying al-Qaeda recruiters and other terrorist operatives.

U.S. Terror Alert May Be Raised After Threats, Officials Say

Washington, May 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. terrorism threat indicator is likely to be raised to its second-highest level within days because of increased signals terrorist groups are planning attacks in the U.S. or against U.S. interests abroad, two administration officials said.

The White House officials said the five-level threat indicator would be lifted one step, to ``high risk'' or orange, from ``elevated'' or yellow, the fourth time the threat level has been raised.

The FBI, CIA and Department of Homeland Security are concerned that intercepted communications indicate a likelihood of an attack against U.S. interests, the administration officials said. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge will make a decision within the next two days, the officials said.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S., Prince Bandar bin Sultan, said last night in Riyadh that he anticipated attacks in either Saudi Arabia or the U.S.

``My gut feeling tells me something big is going to happen here or in America,'' Bandar told reporters, according to the Associated Press. ``There is chatter, a high level of chatter regionally and in other international spots'' about possible attacks in the U.S. or Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. State Department today closed the embassy in Riyadh and consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran through at least Sunday as U.S. and Saudi officials said new terrorist attacks in the countries may be imminent.

``The embassy continues to receive credible information that further terrorist attacks are being planned against unspecified targets in Saudi Arabia,'' the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said in a statement on its Web site.

Saudi Attacks

The closures follow last week's attacks at three compounds housing foreigners in Riyadh that killed 25 people, including eight Americans and nine suicide bombers.

White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said he had no specific information about a change in the terror threat level. He did say that the standard ``gets reviewed every day, based on the latest intelligence.''

The government on March 17 raised the threat indicator from yellow to orange moments after President George W. Bush gave former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein 48 hours to capitulate or face war. The alert level was returned to yellow on April 16 as major Iraq combat operations ended.

Code yellow means the U.S. faces a ``significant'' risk of terrorist attacks. When the listing is raised to orange, the government steps up planning with state and local law enforcement agencies that would respond to any attack.

A ``high-risk'' threat means federal and local officials should consider canceling public events that might draw an attack and restrict access to power plants, reservoirs and government buildings to essential personnel.

The FBI also has issued a warning that the bombings last week in Riyadh indicate the al-Qaeda terrorist network remains active and could launch new attacks in the U.S.

Al-Qaeda could strike U.S. and Western targets overseas, the FBI said in an updated advisory to state and local law enforcement agencies.

The State Department said the Saudi offices usually are closed on Thursday and Friday and will be closed Saturday for Memorial Day.

National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said that FBI investigators are assisting the bombing investigations in Saudi Arabia and in Morocco, where a series of bombings Friday claimed 28 lives.

``At this point, we haven't discovered any links between these two attacks, but the investigation is continuing,'' McCormack said.

Last Updated: May 20, 2003 12:07 EDT

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