World News

al-Qaida may be targeting trains in the United States

Federal officials sent law enforcement officials a warning that al-Qaida may be targeting trains in the United States, based on information gleaned from documents at Osama bin Laden’s compound after the world’s top terrorist was killed.

The Homeland Security advisory tells law enforcement officials to be vigilant about train security. The missive is general and precautionary in nature because the information dates back more than a year, and no recent intelligence indicates that such a plot is active, officials said.

Federal officials say they have not found reference to specific plots, NBC News reported. But they discovered what they described as “aspirational” items — events al-Qaida operatives were interested in trying to make happen.

As that of February 2010, the terror organization was considering tampering with an unspecified U.S. rail track so that a train would fall off the track at a valley or a bridge, the Homeland Security advisory said.

This information appears to be the first widely circulated intelligence pulled from the May 1 raid on bin Laden’s lair in Pakistan. After killing bin Laden, Navy SEALs took computers, DVDs, and documents from his house.

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