Bomb tunnel, flood city
BY ALLISON GENDAR in New York
and JAMES GORDON MEEK in Washington
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, July 7th, 2006
The FBI has uncovered what officials consider a serious plot by jihadists to bomb the Holland Tunnel in hopes of causing a torrent of water to deluge lower Manhattan, the Daily News has learned.
The terrorists sought to drown the Financial District as New Orleans was by Hurricane Katrina, sources said. They also wanted to attack subways and other tunnels.
Counterterrorism officials are alarmed by the "lone wolf" terror plot because they allegedly got a pledge of financial and tactical support from Jordanian associates of top terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi before he was killed in Iraq, a counterterrorism source told The News.
It's not clear, however, if any cash or assistance was delivered.
The News has learned that at the request of U.S. officials, authorities in Beirut arrested one of the alleged conspirators, identified as Amir Andalousli, in recent months. Agents were scrambling yesterday to try to nab other suspects, sources said.
They didn't indicate how many people were the target of the international dragnet but said they were scattered all over the world.
"This is an ongoing operation," one source said.
U.S. agents were allowed to take part in the interrogation of Andalousli, a source said.
FBI and New York City Police Department officials would not comment yesterday about the investigation, which has been kept under wraps for months.
The plotters wanted to detonate a massive amount of explosives inside the Holland Tunnel to blast a hole that would destroy the tunnel, everyone in it, and send a devastating flood shooting through the streets of lower Manhattan.
It is assumed by officials the thugs would try to use vehicles packed with explosives.
Sources said that New York City officials believed the plan could conceivably work with enough explosives placed in the middle of the tunnel, which runs underneath the river bed, a source said.
But others doubted the plot was feasible.
"You are talking major, major explosives and knowledge of blast effect to make this happen," said another senior counterterrorism source.
Besides bedrock, the tunnel is protected by concrete and cast-iron steel.
Experts also said that even if the tunnel cracked, the Financial District would not be flooded because it is above the level of the river.
The FBI discovered the plot by monitoring Internet chat rooms, where the aspiring terrorists discussed striking the U.S. economy, rather than causing mass casualties, a source said.
"They're hell-bent on destroying the economy in the U.S.," a counterterrorism source said.
Al Qaeda founder Bin Laden has often urged his followers to "bleed" America financially.
The Lebanese government had been expected to release a statement about Andalousli's arrest but was asked by the U.S. to hold off while operations to disrupt the plot continued, sources said.
Sources contrasted the chat room jihadists to the seven wanna-be Al Qaeda cell members arrested in a poor area of Miami by the FBI last week, who appeared to have no capability of carrying out plots they hatched to bomb FBI offices in several cities including New York.
"This is more advanced than the Miami Seven," said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The disclosure of the Holland Tunnel plot came at the same time Homeland Security Department officials announced a boost in funds to protect rail and transit lines in the New York City area yesterday.
Last month, DHS cut New York's high-threat grants by almost half. But yesterday, DHS Undersecretary George Foresman said the $47 million rail security grants, which were 25% higher than last year's, were in response to increased risks after the 2004 Madrid and 2005 London rail bombings. |
