U.S. Issues Warning on Terrorist Attacks : State Department’s Concern Partly Based on Seizure of Explosives, Arrests in Spain

The government, criticized a year ago for holding back public warning of possible terrorist activity, issued a rare advisory today saying there could be holiday-season attacks on Americans overseas.

The State Department expressed concern today the possibility that Middle Eastern terrorists may be planning a variety of attacks, perhaps against U.S. targets in Western Europe or West Africa.

A brief statement said the concern was based partly on recent reports of movement of terrorists from the Middle East and the discovery of weapons shipments destined for pro-Iranian groups in Spain and Africa.

“If credible, specific information or a threat to the public is received, the Department of State will provide additional information for travelers and other concerned parties,” the statement said.

A State Department official, who asked not to be identified, said the Administration has begun briefing foreign governments about its concerns and felt that a warning to the public was also appropriate.

One reason for increased fears of terrorist attack, the official said, is the seizure of 440 pounds of explosives Nov. 23 in Valencia, Spain, and the arrest of eight suspected Shiite Muslim extremists by Spanish police.

A French police report said the men and explosives were headed for France. According to Spanish police, at least three of the men are members of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group of extremist Shiites based in Lebanon.

The official also said there are several anniversaries coming up that terrorists sometimes use as occasions for carrying out violent activities.

One was the still unresolved bombing of Pan Am flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988, over Lockerbie, Scotland, with a death toll of 259 aboard the craft and 11 on the ground. U.S. failure to warn the public of threats in advance of that attack drew a firestorm of criticism.

Other December incidents were the terrorist attacks on airports in Rome and Vienna two days after Christmas in 1985.

Today’s advisory contained scant information, but it followed a series of precautionary steps by the French government to guard against the possibility of terrorist attacks during the holiday season.

Interior and justice ministers from the European Community met in France on Thursday and today to coordinate efforts to track down a Shiite militant group reportedly responsible for the movement of explosives from Spain and to France and Cyprus as well.