THE US: The American accused of plotting a radioactive "dirty bomb" attack on the United States repeatedly met top al-Qaeda leaders after September 11th to discuss a range of attack options, including blowing up hotels and gas stations, US officials said yesterday.
The officials said Abdullah al Muhajir, a New York native who was born José Padilla, travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan several times after the September 11th attacks on America to meet senior al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah for talks on plans for other types of attacks.
"He is the guy who had discussed with Zubaydah plans to conduct a variety of plans including [dirty bombs\]," a US official claimed.
In their conversations, Zubaydah, Muhajir and other al-Qaeda operatives discussed the possibility of detonating a bomb packed with radioactive waste or blowing up hotel rooms and petrol stations in the United States, the official said.
Information provided by Zubaydah, who has been under US interrogation since his March capture in Pakistan, helped lead to Muhajir's arrest, the official said. Zubaydah had not provided a name but did give other details that helped officials piece together information on Muhajir's plans.
Muhajir was detained in Chicago on May 8th as he arrived in the United States. US officials on Monday announced he had been declared an "enemy combatant" and was transferred to the custody of the Defence Department.
The Deputy Defence Secretary, Mr Paul Wolfowitz, said the former street gang member had not provided information to investigators.
Officials said there were probably other operatives still working on the plots, which were only in the planning stages when Muhajir was arrested.
President Bush yesterday said a hunt was under way for would-be terrorists.
"There's . . . a full-scale manhunt on," Mr Bush told reporters at the White House. "We will run down every lead, every hint. We're in for a long struggle in this war on terror. There are people that still want to harm America . . . As we run down these killers or would-be killers we'll let you know."
Mr Wolfowitz said Muhajir apparently planned to get radioactive material for the bomb from somewhere within the US.
Padilla (31), who changed his name to Abdullah al Muhajir after a stint in jail in Florida, is being held in a military jail in South Carolina as an "enemy combatant".
Under the rules of war, that allows him to be held until the end of the conflict and questioned without an attorney present.
However, his lawyer yesterday filed a motion challenging the legality of his detention.
Meanwhile, workers yesterday sealed a memorial capsule into the wall and completed outside repair of the Pentagon, nine months after an airliner hijacked by al-Qaeda tore into the US military headquarters, killing 189 people and causing $740 million in damage.
•Morocco has arrested the wives of two Saudi men being held on suspicion of plotting "terrorist attacks" on US and British ships in the Straits of Gibraltar, a security official said yesterday .
The women, arrested on Monday, were being interrogated with their husbands and a third Saudi national for possible "criminal acts", said the official, who declined to be identified.