N.Y. plot to bomb tunnels is foiled, officials say

NEW YORK — A terrorist plot to flood Lower Manhattan by attacking train tunnels under the Hudson River used by tens of thousands of commuters was thwarted before the conspirators could travel to the United States, authorities said Friday.

Eight suspects — including an al-Qaida loyalist arrested in Lebanon and two others in custody elsewhere — had hoped to pull off the attack in October or November, federal officials said. But federal investigators working with their counterparts in six other countries intervened. The other five suspects remained at large, officials said.

"It was never a concern that this would actually be executed," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Boston. "We were, as I say, all over this."

Initial reports said the terrorists wanted to attack the Holland Tunnel, a major thoroughfare for cars heading to the island of Manhattan. But officials said the group had specifically mentioned only the Port Authority Trans-Hudson, or PATH, train tunnels under the Hudson River used by commuters on their way to New York and New Jersey.

"This is a plot that involved martyrdom and explosives" and focused on the "tubes that connect Jersey and Lower Manhattan," FBI Assistant Director Mark Mershon said, calling the plot "the real deal."

A federal law-enforcement official said the suspects hoped to inflict damage on the U.S. economy.

The men reportedly believed that by bombing the train tunnels, they could unleash a severe flood in Lower Manhattan, including on Wall Street, said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. The official said investigators think an attack on a train tunnel, unlike the Holland Tunnel, could have achieved that goal.

There are two railway tunnels through which trains travel to and from New Jersey and lower Manhattan. The system, a subsidiary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, typically transports 215,115 passengers each workday.

Investigators decided in recent weeks that the "plotting for this attack had matured to a point where it appeared that the individuals were about to move forward," Mershon said.

Details of the plot — first reported Friday by the Daily News — emerged on the one-year anniversary of the attacks on the London transportation system that killed 52 people and the four suicide bombers. Officials said the timing of Friday's report was coincidental.

A source told the Daily News that suspects allegedly received a pledge of financial and tactical support from Jordanian associates of the top al-Qaida operative in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, before he was killed by U.S. and coalition forces last month.

New York's transportation system has emerged as a potential terrorist threat over the years. A June book by journalist Ron Suskind highlighted a reported plot by al-Qaida terrorists to kill thousands of New Yorkers by spreading cyanide gas in the subway. In May, a man was convicted of plotting to blow up a bustling subway station.

In 1993, the FBI rounded up more than 12 men who allegedly conspired to blow up five New York City landmarks, including the Lincoln and Holland tunnels. The prosecution resulted in more than 12 convictions.

In the most recent case, a federal official said, FBI agents monitoring Internet chat rooms used by extremists learned of the plot and determined that tunnels were possibly being targeted after investigators pieced together code words from their conversations.

Another U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, called the alleged plot "largely aspirational" and described the Internet conversations as mostly extremists discussing and conceptualizing the plot. The official said no money had been transferred, nor had other similar operational steps been taken.

Officials cited the arrest of the Lebanese suspect — described as the scheme's mastermind — as a significant break. A Lebanese official said the Beirut man confessed to plotting to attack New York City tunnels later this year and said he was acting on Osama bin Laden's orders.

Police in Beirut arrested the man in April, acting on information from the FBI. The suspect uses the alias Amir Andalousli, but his real name is Assem Hammoud, officials said.

Amir Andalousli means "Prince of Andalus" in Arabic. It's a reference to the Muslim empire of Al-Andalus, which was centered in what is modern-day Spain.

In the Islamic world, few symbols are as resonant as the 15th-century downfall of Al-Andalus. To many militants, its fall marked the end of Islam's golden age.

There was disagreement on how close the suspected terrorists were to al-Qaida and whether they had contacts with al-Zarqawi.

A Washington source said, "The use of the term 'real deal' isn't consistent with what people have been saying in private. It's not considered a huge threat."

The FBI discovered the emerging plans when it came upon Hammoud, 31, and tipped off Lebanese Internal Security, according to the FBI and a senior Lebanese security official.

Over the next several months, Hammoud allegedly conspired with the seven other principals, sending them "detailed maps and instructions" about the potential targets, the Lebanese official said.

On April 27, Lebanese authorities arrested Hammoud, a Lebanese official said. Two other suspects in the plot were arrested in two other countries, Mershon said, and the others remain at large, but outside the United States.

Hammoud's family denied any al-Qaida links and his mother, Nabila Qotob, said her son taught economics at a local university.

A U.S. law-enforcement official said one of the others accused in the plot is believed to be Canadian but added that there were no apparent links to the 17 people arrested last month in a plot to bomb buildings around Toronto.

Authorities told The Canadian Press that police there questioned a man but released him because there was not enough evidence to hold him.

Members of Congress representing New York confirmed they were briefed on the threat, but some discounted its seriousness.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said on CNN there was no evidence plotters had taken any actions, such as buying explosives or sending money. "They don't seem to be the brightest bulbs in the terrorist lot."

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said U.S. and New York authorities had been monitoring a transit plot since September.

"I've known for nine or 10 months about a possible plot to attack the mass-transit system in Lower Manhattan," King said. "I wish the story hadn't come out at this time."

The latest report of a terrorist plot comes weeks after federal authorities announced charges in Miami against seven men they described as "a homegrown terrorist cell" that planned to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower and other buildings.

But the group never had contact with al-Qaida or other terrorist groups and had not acquired any explosives.

Material from The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Newsday is included in this report.