Thursday, March 13, 2008

Al Qaeda threatens Wall Street. Sort of. We think. Maybe.

The threat may be non-specific but still, Dinah doesn't like hearing this. She has buds working there!

Law enforcement officials have alerted Wall Street firms of a new, non-specific terror threat centering on lower Manhattan.

Officials point out that the threat is based on unverified intelligence from overseas but was time-specific. The non-specific threat information suggests an al Qaeda terror would like to strike the city sometime this month, a security official said on condition of anonymity.

An NYPD spokesman said the department is aware of the threat and is taking added precautions.

The spokesman stressed there is no credible information any plot is imminent, but extra measures will be in place until officials learn more about the overseas sourcing.

Officials with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task force and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also downplayed this latest threat to Wall Street.

Investigators said a security bulletin was issued as a precaution:
Homeland Security states there is no reason to believe an attack is imminent and that it is not giving much credibility to the threat.

“It is quite indirect … not a continuous chain of possession, meaning not U.S. sourcing,” said the official. “Of course you exercise caution and you always pay attention when you hear this, but there is nothing specific on targets, and it’s not even clear who the source of the threat is. It is uncorroborated.”

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