The FBI wants the public to be alert for signs that terrorists may be planning a truck bombing, theAssociated Press reported. While not suggesting any specific threats have been made in the United States, the agency yesterday published a list of signs on its website that people should watch for:
Labeled "for informational purposes only," the warning urged citizens to be alert for the following signs, which it said might indicate plans for detonation of a truck bomb.
- Theft of chemicals or explosives.
- Theft of respirators or chemical-mixing devices.
- Rental of storage space for chemicals.
- Delivery of chemicals to storage spaces.
- Theft of a van or truck capable of carrying more than one ton.
- Chemical fires or toxic odors in apartments, hotel rooms or self-storage units.
- Small explosions in wooded areas, which could be bomb tests.
- Reports of hospital patients suffering losses of fingers or hands.
- Chemical burns or severed hands that remain untreated.
- Surveillance of potential targets.
- Efforts to obtain blueprints of potential targets.
The FBI posted the warning on its Internet site and e-mailed the message to thousands of companies "in an abundance of caution," FBI spokeswoman Debra Weireman said.
The warning was published on the website of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, responsible for protecting the nation's most important computer networks and physical infrastructures, such as power plants or telephone towers.
"There's no indication that something might happen," Weireman said. "We have reached out to the community to be on the lookout."
