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U.S. Says Iraqi Terror Plots Foiled
Operatives have been arrested, according to the State Department. Attacks were not carried out.
By Robin Wright
Times Staff Writer
2:36 PM PST, March 28, 2003
WASHINGTON -- The United States has uncovered two active terrorist plots aimed at American facilities overseas, including one in a Persian Gulf country, the State Department said today.
Suspects were arrested in both countries and weaponry, including explosives, confiscated before the attacks could be carried out. The countries weren't identified, but officials did say the U.S. was not one of them.
Information from the arrests subsequently led to the allegations of plots against U.S. interests in at least eight other countries, U.S. officials said today.
In the run-up to the U.S. invasion, the State Department had appealed to more than 60 nations to expel the top Iraqi diplomats and intelligence agents based in Iraq's foreign missions. The recent discoveries have led the Bush administration to intensify efforts to get support from allied nations.
"Officers in the Iraqi intelligence service remain a threat because of their history of support for terrorism," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "The United States will continue to monitor this situation and work with our partners and allies to ensure the safety of American citizens and facilities overseas."
A U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that the groups planned to use conventional explosives rather than chemical or biological weapons and they had been arrested within the last two weeks.
"They were sitting there waiting for their instructions and had received such instructions," the official said, describing the groups as "sleeper cells."
He said did not know if the Iraqis arrested had been operating under diplomatic cover, but he said it was possible that they had handlers among Iraqi officials.
Times Staff Writer Roger Vincent contributed to this report.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/diplomacy/la-iraq-a032803plot_lat,1,4138265.story?coll=la%2Dhome%2Dheadlines
http://www.latimes.com