FBI issues terror alert on transit, hotel, stadium targets

With as many as 12 terror suspects on the loose in America, the FBI issued warnings to security management on vulnerable transit, stadium and hotel targets.

The FBI is following leads in a potential bomb plot that originated in Denver and may have targets in the New York region. The threat was real enough to force counterterrorism officials to issue alerts to transit authorities and police, hotel management, and to security at sports complexes and stadiums. Bulletins issued by the FBI appeared to be concerned with Madrid-like bomb threats to New York City subway systems. The stadium focus reflects verbiage in an Al Qaeda manual obtained by the FBI to hit places of entertainment and "immorality." The bulletins were released following the arrest of Najibullah Zazi, an immigrant from Afghanistan who was staying with associates in an apartment in Queens, New York. Police allegedly found a bomb-making manual among Zazi's possessions and have tied his fingerprints to a battery and a scale, both of which could be used in creating a bomb. FBI investigators are following a plot that could involve the detonation of bombs hidden in backpacks and triggered by cellphones. Police raids uncovered several backpacks and cellphones at apartments visited by Zazi. A number of suspects are being pursued. "Several individuals in the United States, Pakistan and elsewhere" are being investigated, the FBI said in a statement.