Web site warns of airline attacks

By Mohamed Khalifa
The Associated Press

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The authenticity of the statement, signed "Al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula," could not be confirmed.

The warning of attacks in "the near future" appeared on a Web site known for posting messages from militants, including the video in which a terror group with al-Qaida links executed Nicholas Berg, an American kidnapped in Iraq.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Brian Roehrkasse, said "this particular threat appears to be focused on Westerners in the Arabian peninsula."

"While al-Qaida has demonstrated its ability to attack Westerners, there is no indication from this information that al-Qaida is currently targeting airliners in the United States," he said.

The statement did not specify that airline attacks would be limited to Saudi Arabia — but suggested that more attacks on Western targets in the kingdom were imminent.

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli noted that existing U.S. travel warnings call attention to possible threats to commercial aviation in Saudi Arabia and urge Americans to take that into account.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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