General

“Underwear bomber” may not have been alone

Extremists appear to have discussed bombing NYC restaurants or nightclubs

The attempt by Umar Abdulmutallab to light a bomb hidden in his underwear on a flight en route to Detroit may not have been the only terror attack planned for Christmas Day 2009. Extremists also discussed an attack on restaurants and nightclubs in New York City, according to an FBI report obtained by Fox News Channel. The alleged NYC plot involved smuggling an explosive device from Nairobi, Kenya to London, England in a shipment of khat before passing it on to a “Caucasian British Muslim,” who would bring it to a Somali man for detonation in New York. An anonymous FBI official suggested that the attempted underwear bombing on the Northwest Airlines flight may have been a back-up plan for a larger terrorist attack in New York City. However, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said it would be wrong to suggest the December 4 report would have helped prevent the attempt by Abdulmutallab. Carter said the report was based on “raw intelligence, unsubstantiated, uncorroborated information.” Another expert agreed, saying that there are “hundreds” of similar reports about potential attacks in New York City each month.

New York Post

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