US raises terror alert level
The Bush administration raised the US terror alert level to orange, its second highest level, tonight amid fears that a wave of terrorist attacks overseas will spread to the United States.
Department of Homeland Security officials initially provided few specific reasons for the alert, which will set in motion a series of security measures around the US government. It also advises cities, states and businesses to take extra security measures.
The alert was raised after top administration and counterterrorism officials reviewed intelligence reports suggesting domestic terrorist attacks were possible.
The decision to raise the terror alert warning came after the homeland security council met at the White House and presented President George Bush with the recommendation for an increase, a senior administration official said.
The new level, orange, marks a high threat of terrorist attacks. It is the second highest level on the five-colour scale. The previous level, yellow, marked an elevated risk.
Counter-terrorism officials had previously described the bulk of intelligence as pointing toward attacks overseas.
Officials believe al-Qaida has launched a series of strikes, loosely coordinated by the organisation’s top leadership, aimed at demonstrating that al Qaida is still viable. They believe attacks in Morocco and Saudi are part of this.
The Bush administration has raised the terror alert level one notch three times previously, setting off a flurry of increased security measures by cities, states and businesses. Each time, the level was lowered back to yellow after a few weeks.
The last time it was raised was during the Iraq war. It went down after most hostilities ended.
