- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.
authorities said on Monday they had captured a suspected American al Qaeda
operative carrying out reconnaissance for an attack on the United States
with a radioactive dirty bomb.
-
- Abdullah al Muhajir, also known as Jose Padilla, was
detained more than a month ago, on May 8, after flying into the Chicago
O'Hare International Airport from Pakistan and was now in a naval brig
in South Carolina, officials said.
-
- "I can tell you that we have a man detained who
is a threat to the country, and that thanks to the vigilance of our intelligence-gathering
and law enforcement, he is now off the streets, where he should be,"
President Bush told reporters as he met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
-
- The United States blames Saudi-born dissident Osama bin
Laden and his al Qaeda network for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States
that killed 3,000 people and officials said al Muhajir was in the process
of choosing his target.
-
- "He did indicate some knowledge of the Washington,
D.C., area but I want to emphasize again it was not an actual plan,"
said Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
-
- "He was instructed to return to the United States
to conduct reconnaissance operations for al Qaeda," Wolfowitz told
a news conference at the Justice Department.
-
- Another official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said al Muhajir was "probably" targeting the U.S. capital.
-
- A so-called dirty bomb involves exploding a conventional
device wrapped in or laced with radioactive material that can kill victims
in the immediate area and spread highly toxic material to humans, causing
mass death and injury.
-
- Attorney General John Ashcroft, in Moscow for meetings
with Russian officials, announced the arrest and said the U.S. government
had "multiple, independent and corroborating sources" that al
Muhajir was closely associated with al Qaeda and was "involved in
planning future terrorist attacks on innocent American civilians in the
United States."
-
- After serving a prison term in the early 1990s in the
United States, the 33-year-old born in New York began referring to himself
as Abdullah al Muhajir, officials said.
-
- Following his release from prison, al Muhajir traveled
to Afghanistan and Pakistan and on several occasions in 2001, he met with
senior al Qaeda officials, Ashcroft said.
-
- "While in Afghanistan and Pakistan, al Muhajir trained
with the enemy, including studying how to wire explosive devices and researching
radiological dispersion devices," he said.
-
- "Al Qaeda officials knew that as a U.S. citizen,
holding a valid U.S. passport, al Muhajir would be able to travel freely
in the United States without drawing attention to himself."
-
- Al Muhajir was being held by the Defense Department as
an "enemy combatant" despite the fact he is a U.S. citizen.
-
- In response to general terror threats against the United
States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last month ordered extra security
measures to protect spent fuel stored at U.S. commercial nuclear power
plants that are being decommissioned.
-
- Military experts were worried terror groups might try
to use the material to make dirty bombs.
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