June 1, 2004

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) -- FBI agents in Texas issued a nationwide alert Tuesday for two stolen propane tanker trucks, laden with thousands of gallons of the volatile liquefied gas.

A San Antonio gas company discovered the trucks, one carrying 3,000 gallons and the other carrying 2,500 gallons, had been stolen after employees returned Tuesday from the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the FBI said.

The thefts could have occurred as early as May 25, FBI Agent Patrick Patterson said.

"Propane is one of the elements that terrorists have been trained on, so we're very concerned about it," Patterson told a news conference.

The FBI was concerned the trucks or the propane could be used as a bomb, but Patterson said there was no indication that was the purpose of the theft.

The FBI and San Antonio police said propane thefts were common in south Texas, given its proximity to northern Mexico.

Propane is a commonly used fuel there, and a professional propane theft ring was operating in San Antonio as recently as last year, San Antonio Police Chief Albert Ortiz said.

A tanker was converted into a truck bomb for the Khobar Towers apartment bombing in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, nearly eight years ago, he said. The June 25, 1996, explosion killed 19 U.S. Air Force personnel and wounded 372 other people.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/06/01/fbi.propane.reut/index.html