More attacks likely, says FBI

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 12. In a direct and blunt fashion, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked Americans at home and abroad to be on the guard over the next several days.

The warning follows intelligence information that more terrorism could be imminent.

At the same time, the agency has said it had no specific information about when or where this terror attack could take place.

Unnamed intelligence officials have been quoted in agency reports as saying that the authorities had received an increasing amount of intelligence in the last two days suggesting that terrorists were planning to carry out attacks over the weekend.

The threats, according to reports, range from truck bomb attacks inside the United States to hits on diplomatic missions and other U.S. facilities overseas.

At his news conference, the President, Mr. George W Bush, was asked about this latest warning from the FBI.

Mr. Bush maintained that the warning was precipitated by a ``general threat'' the Government had received over the weekend. ``I hope it's the last, but given the attitude of the evildoers, it may not be,'' he remarked.

As the investigation into the September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon continues in full steam, investigators are puzzled at how six of the hijackers had entered the country as there was no record anywhere.

``... we can find no record of them, period. That's not just INS, that's everywhere,'' said the Chief of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Mr. James Ziglar.

The inability of the federal agencies to find out how the hijackers entered the country has left some doubt on the identity of the hijackers.

Apparently, this was one reason why the FBI released the pictures and the names so that people could come forward and identify. ``It's a problem not knowing who these people were and being able to match these names with faces,'' the INS head told a Congressional panel.

There has been some concern that the administration, on the one hand, is asking people to carry on business as usual and on the other hand, issuing directives that makes it difficult for people to go about normally.

Further, even from a Government point of view, that there is a heightened security is seen from the fact that the Vice- President, Mr. Dick Cheney, is being kept away from Washington in a secure location.

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Section  : International
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