145;Gas attack in NY planned, called off146;

The informant said the operatives had planned to use a small, easily concealed device to release hydrogen cyanide into multiple subway cars. US officials had already discovered plans for the device on the hard drive of a computer of a Bahraini jihadist arrested in February 2003, and they had been able to construct a working model from the plans.

The easy-to-make device, called the mubtakkar, meaning 8216;8216;invention8217;8217; in Arabic or 8216;8216;initiative8217;8217; in Farsi, represented a breakthrough in weapons technology that 8216;8216;was the equivalent of splitting the atom,8217;8217; Suskind writes in his book. All previous attempts to use the deadly gas, similar to that used in Holocaust-era gas chambers, in mass attacks had failed.

The FBI declined to confirm the details of Suskind8217;s account. Spokesman Bill Carter in Washington said on Saturday the bureau would have no comment on the excerpted material.

A New York Police Department spokesman said authorities had known of the planned attack. 8216;8216;We were aware of the plot and took appropriate precaution.8217;8217;