How al-Qaeda assesses targets
WASHINGTON — A new government intelligence bulletin describes in the greatest
detail yet al-Qaeda's techniques for assessing potential targets, extolling the
lethal power of flying, shattered building glass and advising that kerosene and
tires are effective for a deadly arson attack.
"The focus is on maximizing the destructive and killing power of an attack,"
the bulletin says.
The bulletin provides a fresh glimpse of terrorist reports found in computers
and disks seized in Pakistan in July. The reports described the casing by
terrorists of several buildings in the United States and prompted U.S.
authorities to raise the terror threat level earlier this year for high-profile
financial facilities in New York, Washington and Newark, N.J.
The heightened alert was eased shortly after the Nov. 2 election, and there is
no evidence a potential attack ever moved beyond initial planning.
"Current intelligence provides no indications that al-Qaeda has operatives to
conduct an attack based upon the information in these reports," the eight-page
bulletin said.
Produced by the FBI and Homeland Security Department, the bulletin was
circulated Tuesday to law enforcement, government and industry officials
nationwide and obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
The excerpts, according to the bulletin, show that al-Qaeda operatives go well
beyond basic description of a potential target to sophisticated analysis of
vulnerabilities in building construction, an examination of potential police
and emergency response and recommendations for possible methods of attack.
In one report, an unidentified al-Qaeda operative notes that a building "is
almost completely made to resemble a glass house — which could be devastating
in an emergency scenario. ... That is to say, that when shattered, each piece
of glass becomes a potential flying piece of cutthroat shrapnel!"
Another excerpt calculates that a particular building has precisely 67,000
square feet of glass, adding for emphasis that it amounts to "an acre and a
half of glass."
The author provides five possible methods of attack in one scenario, leading
with parking a vehicle packed with explosives next to an exposed building
column. The terrorist also suggests that operatives rent space in the building
or use any of several substances in an arson attack.
"Combinations with leaking gas cylinders (esp. oxygen), bleach, ammonia and
tires (they burn well) could be lethal," the al-Qaeda report says. "Added to
this, also be advised that kerosene burns more powerfully than an ordinarily
fuelled fire (although it may not be hot enough to melt steel unless used in
very large quantities)."
The reports note such things as when people take lunch and smoking breaks,
where surveillance cameras are positioned, what public events were scheduled
near buildings and how many cars and pedestrians typically pass by per minute.
Detailed descriptions of security guards included their uniforms, whether they
were armed and a notation that one male guard's weapon "appears to be a Colt
..45 pistol."
In two reports, the al-Qaeda author assumed that undercover security officers
are likely to be stationed near possible targets. That shows that security
officials must "regularly review, refresh and reinforce" their undercover teams
to prevent them from being identified, the bulletin said.
One al-Qaeda operative also advises where additional reconnaissance could be
performed before an attack, such as "inside the coffee shop, restaurants or
bars etc. Or even on the upstairs floor of the bookshop (there is one end where
people regularly sit and browse through books)."
The bulletin said the casing reports demonstrate a high level of sophistication
among al-Qaeda surveillance operatives and suggest that the terror group wants
to use people who have experience living in the United States to help choose
targets.
Many of the reconnaissance techniques are described in a captured al-Qaeda
manual titled Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants. That manual
says that public information can provide 80 per cent of the information needed
about a possible target, demonstrating that security officials in government
and the private sector must carefully review what is available on the Internet
and elsewhere, the bulletin said.
"Surveillance of a potential target can occur as little as one week to as much
as three years prior to an attack," the bulletin said.
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