New York – Lebanese authorities found maps and bombing plans on the personal computer of an alleged al-Qaeda loyalist accused of plotting to attack New York train tunnels, and a U.S. official disclosed he had visited the U.S. at least once.
Acting Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat described the information found on Assem Hammoud’s computer as “very important.”
“It contained maps and bombing plans that were being prepared,” Fatfat said in a Beirut television interview.
In the U.S., a federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hammoud had visited California six years ago.
The official said Hammoud, 31, had a legitimate visa for a brief stay and was believed to have been visiting family or friends. The visit occurred long before authorities say the tunnel plot began to unfold.
Authorities are still trying to trace Hammoud’s steps during that trip but say they have no record of him going to New York. They have not ruled out the possibility he had come to the country using different names.
Lebanese security officials told The Associated Press that they obtained information from Hammoud’s computer and CDs seized from his office at the Lebanese International University, where he taught economics.
“This information helped the investigators make Hammoud confess to his role in plotting a terror act in America,” one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
The FBI announced Friday it had uncovered a plot to attack Hudson River tunnels, which carry more than 215,000 passengers each weekday between New York and New Jersey. U.S. officials said the plot involved at least eight people, including Hammoud. At least two besides Hammoud have been arrested, Lebanese officials said.
U.S. officials said the suspects hoped to pull off an attack involving “martyrdom and explosives” in October or November, but federal investigators working with six other countries intervened before the suspects could travel to the United States.
Officials said Hammoud confessed to the plot and to swearing allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
