FBI Warns Americans Against New Terrorist Attack

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, February 13, 2002

FBI Warns Americans Against New Terrorist Attack

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FBI Warns Americans Against New Terrorist Attack

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued an extraordinary new terrorist alert on Monday, warning that a Yemeni man and several associates may launch terrorist attacks against American interests as early as Tuesday.

Law enforcement officials said the FBI issued the warning after getting credible intelligence that one or more people were involved, but there was no specific information about possible targets.

"Recent information indicates a planned attack may occur in the United States or against U.S. interests on or around Feb. 12, 2002. One or more operatives may be involved in the attack," the alert said.

The alert urged 18,000 law enforcement agencies and the American public to be alert and asked police to "stop and detain" any of the named individuals in alert who were considered " extremely dangerous."

The alert identified one possible attacker as Fawaz Yahya al- Rabeei, a Yemeni national born in Saudi Arabia in 1979 and listed out about a dozen of his associates. But officials said there was no evidence that al-Rabeei had entered the United States.

Law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the alert was issued according to recent information from interviews of detainees in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was not clear whether the attack was planned or involved Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

After the September 11 attacks, the FBI and Homeland Security officials had issued three general alerts urging all Americans to be alert for possible terrorist attacks.

The last alert, issued on December 3, has been extended through the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and is supposed to expire around March 11.

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