US loses sleep over summer terror threat

US counter-terror officials are warning of an increased risk of an attack this summer, given al-Qaeda’s apparent interest in summertime strikes and increased al-Qaeda training in the Afghan-Pakistani border region.

US counter-terror officials are warning of an increased risk of an attack this summer, given al-Qaeda’s apparent interest in summertime strikes and increased al-Qaeda training in the Afghan-Pakistani border region.

The White House has called an urgent, multi-agency meeting on Thursday to discuss the potential threat, ABC News has reported. Top intelligence and law enforcement officials have been summoned to report on steps to minimise or counter the threat and what steps are being taken to tighten security at government buildings, ABC said. The meeting would be one of a number convened in light of new intelligence and information learned from the recent failed car bomb attempts in London, ABC reported, citing a senior US administration official.

The unnamed official told ABC the level of concern of a new attack in the United States was now higher than it had been in some time.

However, later in the day, the White House denied that it had convened any such meeting.

On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune that he had a “gut feeling” about a new period of increased risk.

He based his assessment on earlier patterns of terrorists in Europe and intelligence he would not disclose. “Summertime seems to be appealing to them,” Chertoff said in his discussion with the newspaper about terrorists. “We worry that they are rebuilding their activities.”

Other US counterterrorism officials shared Chertoff’s concern and said that al-Qaeda and like-minded groups have been able to plot and train more freely in the tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border in recent months. Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, are believed to be hiding in the rugged region.

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“The threat coming out of there is very real, even if there aren’t a lot of specifics…,” one of the officials said.

Chertoff’s department has not made any move to increase the US’s colour-coded terror alert system. Now, airlines are under orange—or high—alert, which is the second most serious level on a five-point scale. The rest of the country remains a step below at yellow, or elevated.

Chertoff said he is convinced that terrorists are regrouping. “Our edge is technology and the vigilance of the ordinary citizen,” he said.

The secretary also urged Americans to be watchful for suspicious activities in the wake of recent terror incidents in England and Scotland. On June 29, two cars packed with gas cylinders and nails were discovered in the heart of London’s entertainment district. The next day, two extremists smashed their flaming Jeep Cherokee into security barriers at Glasgow Airport’s main terminal.