The United States has received intelligence reports that al Qaeda was in the late stages of planning an aerial suicide attack against the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, according to an advisory obtained today by reporters.
"Recent reliable reporting indicates that al Qaeda was in the late stages of planning an aerial suicide attack against the US Consulate in Karachi," the Department of Homeland Security said in advising pilots and airports to watch for suspicious activity.
"Operatives were planning to pack a small fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter with explosives and crash it into the consulate," the advisory, dated May 1st, said.
It did not mention any specific threat inside the United States. "We issued this advisory in response to general intelligence regarding threats to airlines not to a specific threat," a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said.
The advisory was based on information and analysis from the Terrorist Threat Integration Center received during the last 24 hours, it said. The center, which aims to be a hub for terrorism threat information, officially opened on Thursday.
"This plot and a similar plot last year to fly a small explosive-laden aircraft into a US warship in the Persian Gulf demonstrate al Qaeda's continued fixation with using explosive-laden small aircraft in attacks," the advisory said. A small plane loaded with explosives would be equivalent to a medium-sized truck bomb, the advisory said.