Hudson River bomb plot

On July 7, 2006, the FBI announced that they had foiled a plot that was in its "talking phase" by foreign militants to detonate explosives in tunnels connecting New Jersey with Manhattan and drown the New York financial district with a torrent of water. This was unfeasible because the tunnel is embedded in bedrock, and the target is above sea level. [cite news
url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1815510,00.html
title = Manhattan tunnel terror plot foiled, say US police
publisher = Guardian Unlimited
date = July 7, 2006] The report, however, made international news. [cite news
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5158518.stm
title = Three held over NY tunnel 'plot'
publisher = BBC News
date = July 8, 2006] The government initially protested about how the story was leaked to the New York Daily News. [cite news
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070700361.html
title = Plot to Attack N.Y. Foiled
publisher = Washington Post
date = July 8, 2006 ]

uspects

Assem Hammoud

Born July 6, 1975, Assem Hammoud was said to be the leader of the plotters, and is accused of having links to extremist groups since 1994.

He had studied finance and economics at Concordia University in Canada from 1995 to 2002, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, before returning to Beirut where he became a professor of economics or computer science at the Lebanese International University.

His girlfriend lives in Canada [cite news
url=http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/07/07/nyc-tunnel-plot.html
title=Canadian connection in alleged N.Y. bomb plot
publisher=CBC News
date=July 7, 2006] , and one of his two brothers is still studying in Canada, while the other lives in Beirut along with his mother Nabila Qotob. Nabila has denied Assem's involvement with Al-Qaeda

He speaks English, French, Arabic and German, and drives a 1965 MG. In online communities, he went by the moniker "Amir Andalousi", a term referring to a Spanish prince, when it was still a Muslim territory. His family is thought to have migrated to Lebanon from Spain in the year 800.

He was arrested by Lebanese authorities in May or June 2006, while waiting for a Canadian Visa. [cite news
url=http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/07/11/hammoud11072006.html
title=Tunnel suspect was waiting for visa to Canada when arrested
publisher=CBC News
date=July 11, 2006]

Others

Other alleged co-conspirators were described as a Saudi, a Yemeni, a Jordanian, a Palestinian and an Iranian, all of whom are still at large. Two other suspects are in custody. None of the eight men had ever met in person.

Planning

The majority of the planning for the attacks was said to have taken place in "extremely vague" messages sent between online user accounts on a website, which the FBI claims were a form of secret code. They began monitoring discussion in online chat rooms. [cite news
url=http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/topstories_story_188081817.html
title=N.Y.C. Transit Bomb Plot Thwarted
publisher=CBS News
date=July 7, 2006]

Authorities said that the plot was far from complete, but was expected to be scheduled for October or November 2006. [cite news
url=http://www.abc4.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=F5F39ACB-F4AF-456D-AB8E-6021F9955BF5
title=Feds say 'real deal' plot on NY-NJ tunnel is foiled
publisher=AP via ABC4.com
date=July 7, 2006] The New York Daily News reported that the plot hoped to blow up the Holland Tunnel and cause extensive flooding through lower Manhattan, but authorities have denied that the Holland Tunnel was the specific target.

The Lebanese Internal Security Forces released a statement from Hammoud's confession in which he said he was acting "on a religious order from bin Laden" [cite news
url=http://www.forbes.com/business/services/feeds/ap/2006/07/07/ap2864693.html
title=FBI Disrupts New York Transportation Plot
publisher=AP via forbes.com
date=July 7, 2006] , and that said he had sent his colleagues maps and details about the means to perpetrate the attack and had planned to travel to Pakistan for a four-month training program. In 2003, Hammoud had met with a Syrian who took him to Ain al-Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, to practice with weapons.

In 2005, Hammoud met with a foreign man who asked Hammoud to provide weapons and shelter to mujahideen. [cite news
url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=73795
title=Lebanese arrest suspect in New York bomb plot
publisher=Daily Star (Lebanon)
date= July 8, 2006]

Plot foiled

Michael Chertoff said that there "was never a concern that (the plot) would actually be executed", and that by the time the news was released to the public on July 7th 2006, the plot was entirely foiled. [cite news
url=http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_188161114.html
title=Chertoff Addresses NY Plot While In Boston
publisher=CBS 4 (Boston)
date=July 7, 2006]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel06/transportation_threat070706.htm Press release from FBI]
* [http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/speeches/mueller042606.htm Executive speech from director of FBI April 26, 2006 referring to another foiled tunnel plot]
* [http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/07/tunnel.plot/index.html?section=cnn_topstories CNN report with interviews with Mark Mershon]