California bushfires recall al-Qaeda arson threat
California bushfires recall al-Qaeda arson threat
Thursday Oct 25 15:00 AEST
A 2003 FBI memo alerted law enforcement agencies that al-Qaeda had talked of masterminding a plot to set a series of devastating bushfires around the western US.
The June 25 memo reported that an al-Qaeda detainee spoke of plans involving three or four people to set fires using timed devices in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming and the border states.
“The detainee believed that significant damage to the US economy would result and once it was realised that the fires were terrorist acts, US citizens would put pressure on the US government to change its policies,” the memo said.
In 2004, an Arabic-language jihad website posted a message purporting to be al-Qaeda’s plan of economic attack on the US that included setting fires causing billions of dollars in damage.
This week’s fires in Southern California have already cost more than $1 billion in lost property and displaced more than a million people.
Today FBI officials have confirmed that a fire in Orange County was started by an arsonist. (more…)
Loading ...
