U.S. Warns About Pro-Iraq Terrorist Attacks Abroad

Responding to a series of intelligence alerts from around the globe, the State Department issued a warning late Friday about the danger of terrorist attacks by groups sympathetic to the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The agency said in a statement that Iraq had expanded its support in recent months for several terrorist organizations, particularly radical Palestinian groups. Terrorists could attack Americans and other Western citizens or installations at “almost any time” throughout Europe and the Middle East, the department said, with other regions also at risk.

“Such attacks would become more likely if hostilities were to occur in the Persian Gulf region,” the statement said. “The United States would view with utmost seriousness any Iraqi-sponsored terrorist attack.”

A U.S. counterterrorism official said the threat is believed to include the radical Palestine Liberation Front headed by Abul Abbas and a separate organization headed by Abu Nidal, although other Palestinian groups also might be involved.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said radicals had been observed checking out U.S. military and diplomatic installations during the past three weeks in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Far East.

“There has been movement of people around the world,” he said.

Even so, counterterrorism officials have not yet identified a “specific threat,” the official noted. “It’s just a preponderance of activity,” he said.

A high-ranking U.S. official said the intelligence reports represent the most intense activity among Palestinian hard-liners so far this year, and the Bush Administration is convinced that the incidents are related to the Middle East crisis.

The United States issued a generic warning about the possibility of increased terrorist activity on Aug. 10, eight days after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. But the earlier warning was not based on specific intelligence reports and simply cited increased tensions in the region.

Since then, the United States has “received and analyzed” a series of intelligence alerts about terrorist activity that appears to be in the planning stages, the U.S. counterterrorism official said.

“They may be planning against (U.S. and other Western) nationals in response to the buildup,” the official said. “We felt it was prudent to do it (issue the warning) now.”

U.S. officials were unwilling to comment on whether the intelligence reports specifically identified Iraqi President Hussein as having ordered terrorist activities, or whether the groups were acting out of longstanding support for Iraq.

Both Abul Abbas and Abu Nidal have strong ties to Baghdad. Abul Abbas, whose group is the most hard-line organization operating under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization, claimed credit for the foiled May 30 attack on an Israeli beach.

He has long been a surrogate for the Iraqi president, who has provided financial support, training and bases to the Palestine Liberation Front for years. Many Middle East analysts believe Abul Abbas is more loyal to Hussein than to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.

Abu Nidal, who operates outside the PLO, has re-established relations with Iraq and opened an office in Baghdad after a seven-year absence, although his group’s headquarters is still in Libya.

Terrorist advisories are highly unusual. Before the Kuwait invasion, the last such warning was issued in December and involved Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian, Lebanon-based Party of God, as a result of movement of operatives in Europe and the Middle East. About the same time, Spanish officials uncovered explosives hidden in food products shipped from the Middle East by way of Africa to Spain.