August 4, 2004
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Intelligence found in Pakistan suggests that suspected al Qaeda operatives in that country contacted an individual or individuals in the United States in the past few months, according to two senior U.S. government sources.
These officials would not characterize that communication.
But the sources also said there is other information from Pakistan that has led to investigations in the United States to uncover whether there are any individuals or terrorist cells plotting an attack on U.S. soil.
In addition, two senior Pakistani intelligence sources told CNN that there is evidence at least six individuals in the United States were contacted by Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, an alleged al Qaeda operative who was recently taken into custody in Pakistan. U.S. officials have not confirmed that information.
It was Khan's arrest and documents in his possession that sparked this week's increased threat levels in Washington, New Jersey and New York, U.S. officials have said.
He is a computer expert who is suspected of helping Osama bin Laden communicate with his terror network, U.S. government sources told CNN. Pakistani officials have said the man's identity cannot be confirmed because he has used multiple aliases in the past.
U.S. sources said Khan told interrogators al Qaeda uses Web sites and e-mail addresses in Turkey, Nigeria and tribal areas of Pakistan to pass messages among themselves.
Couriers were often used to deliver computer discs, and the suspect would then post the messages on Web sites, but only briefly, the sources said.
According to the sources, after messages were sent and read, the files were deleted.
E-mail addresses were used only two or three times; if the information was really sensitive, an address might be used only once.
The U.S. sources allege Khan assisted in the evaluation of potential targets and served as a "clearinghouse" of information. He told investigators that he does not know where bin Laden is hiding, sources said.
They said Khan's father facilitated a lot of his international travel, but they do not think the father knew what his son was doing.
Much of the surveillance of possible terror targets in the three U.S. cities took place before September 11, 2001, but there was an indication of reconnaissance updates as recently as January, Bush administration officials said Tuesday.
"We know from the way al Qaeda does business, including on the 9/11 attacks, that they do their homework well in advance, then they update it just before they launch an attack," said Frances Fragos Townsend, a homeland security adviser to President Bush.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said some of the information was updated earlier this year but that "there's no evidence of recent surveillance."
Neither Ridge nor Townsend said how much information was updated in January.
A senior military U.S. official said a computer seized from Khan contained hundreds of images, including photographs, drawings and layouts of various potential U.S. targets.
Some of the photos were years old, while others had been taken as recently as the past few months, the official said. Some images showed underground garages, leading to the conclusion those areas had been under surveillance.
But the information did not include details of any specific plot or time.
"These reports are extraordinarily detailed," Townsend said. "These individuals clearly had access; they were inside this country, inside these targets, crawling all over them, making sure they understood those buildings."
Pakistani 'breakthrough' touted
Pakistani Information Minister Rashid Ahmad said that Pakistani security forces also had captured "valuable people" who provided "valuable information."
"It is a great achievement of our security forces," Ahmad said. "It is a great breakthrough in the al Qaeda network."
Ahmad would not reveal any other information, saying it was "best not to say too much."
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani -- a Tanzanian arrested in Pakistan last week in connection with al Qaeda's bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998 -- also provided "very important" information, Ahmad said Monday.
In addition, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said seven more suspected al Qaeda members have been taken into custody since Ghailani's arrest -- including one who was trying to leave the country Monday.
Financial areas suspected targets
In raising the alert level Sunday, Ridge said the intelligence suggested terrorists may be targeting the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup headquarters in New York, insurance giant Prudential Financial's headquarters in Newark and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank buildings in Washington. But he said nothing indicated that attacks were imminent.
The color-coded alert level for terror threats in those three areas is now at orange, or high.
The rest of the nation remains at threat level yellow, or elevated. Orange is the second-highest level, just above yellow and just below red, or severe.
CNN's Kelli Arena, Kevin Bohn, Syed Mohsin, Syed Naqvi and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/08/04/terror.threat/index.html