FBI Cannot Link Terrorists to Bombs Found on Chemical Tanks

The FBI said there is no indication terrorists planted six pipe bombs that were safely removed from two chemical tanks not far from the world’s largest naval base.

“What we know now does not indicate . . . a terrorist attack,” said FBI Special Agent Jim Watters.

Meanwhile, a bomb threat Tuesday forced the temporary closing of the tunnel linking Norfolk and Portsmouth. Norfolk Police Department spokesman Bob Haynes said traffic was routed away from the Downtown Tunnel, a major commuter artery, while authorities searched the half-mile tunnel. No bomb was found.

The pipe bombs found Monday were pieced together to form two devices with each attached to a separate storage tank at Allied Terminals Inc. They were safely removed in a tense, all-day operation that included the evacuation of a square-mile area. The bombs were described as relatively unsophisticated.

The FBI decided to head the investigation because of the possibility the bombs might be linked to terrorist threats connected to the the Persian Gulf War.

No suspects have been identified or motive for the bombs determined, Watters said.

Jack Killorin, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said that although investigators lacked “a clear indication” pointing to terrorism, they have not ruled it out.

Allied Terminals, a private tank farm on the Elizabeth River, is about 10 miles from the Norfolk Naval Base, home port to 35,000 sailors, more than one-third of the Navy’s contingent in Operation Desert Storm.