Al Qaeda considered rail attacks
Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00 Friday, 06 May 2011 22:00
Documents seized from Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan last week have revealed the terrorist organisation considered targeting trains on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Not even explosives would be required - breaking the tracks near valley's or bridges would cause trains to career off over the edges.
There appears to have been no definitive plan for the attacks. But documents seized appear to show that Osama bin Laden was actively involved in al-Qaeda and was not just a figurehead for the organisation. The New York Times quoted a U.S. official as saying, "He continued to plot and plan, to come up with ideas about targets, and to communicate those ideas to other senior Qaeda leaders."
The U.S. and other countries continue to be on high alert for terrorist attack in the wake of bin Laden's death. Rail and other transit systems can be easy targets for terrorists given their high density of people, ease of access and lack of security. The UK suffered a terrorist attack on its bus and underground system in 2005 that killed 52 people. Bombings on commuter trains in Spain in 2004 killed 191 and injured close to 2000 people.
President Obama is due to travel to Fort Campbell in Kentucky today to meet with the SEALs that carried out the raid on bin Laden's compound and thank them for their service.
