Al Qaeda Planning More Hijackings, Officials Warn [View All]

[Pale Blue Dot]

U.S. officials said yesterday that they have learned of credible threats of possible new airline suicide hijackings by terrorists planned for the latter part of the summer.

The information was developed in recent interviews with one or more high-level al Qaeda captives and corroborated separately by other means, including electronic intercepts, officials said. They described the possible scenarios as similar to the hijackings of four U.S. airliners on Sept. 11, 2001, that were crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in western Pennsylvania.

"The U.S. intelligence community has received information related to al Qaeda's continued interest in using commercial aviation here in the United States and abroad to further their cause," said Department of Homeland Security spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "The Department of Homeland Security issued an advisory regarding this information over the weekend to the appropriate airline and security personnel."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59284-2003Jul28.html