Key U.S. facilities get a terror warning

WASHINGTON -- Critical industries and key infrastructure and installations should take steps to guard against potential terrorist attacks, including checking for possible infiltrators among employees, according to a new government warning.

The FBI and the National Infrastructure Protection Center said in the bulletin issued Wednesday that security routines should be varied and officials should think back to unusual incidents that might indicate they are being targeted.

With fear of an attack high, government officials in the United States and allies like Britain further tightened security. Pentagon officials ordered vehicles armed with Stinger antiaircraft missiles to patrol the capital and intensified F-16 fighter flights over the District of Columbia.

For the second consecutive day, 450 British troops in light tanks and armored cars patrolled London's Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest international airport.

The bulletin also said that officials should check Internet sites describing their facilities and "consider how that information might assist terrorists interested in planning an attack. Operatives will likely research potential targets extensively prior to an attack."

The bulletin said officials should examine whether there are threats from "insider" employees who may have been sent to infiltrate their facilities.

"Planning may begin months or years before an actual terrorist attack," the bulletin said.

The warning was sent to companies involved in such key industries as telecommunications, heavy industrial plants, energy, banking and finance, as well as water systems, electric utilities, governments and emergency services. It is also posted on the NIPC's Web site.

The bulletin is the latest in a series of warnings from the federal government since the nation was put on high alert for a possible terrorist attack last week. It coincides with Thursday's end of the holy Muslim hajj pilgrimage, which U.S. officials said was a key factor in the decision to raise the terror threat level.

The bulletin also repeats warnings from the FBI and CIA that al- Qaida and sympathizer groups may attempt to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Of particular concern, the bulletin says, are so-called "dirty bombs" that are easy to make and can spew radioactive material over a large area.

For those who might respond to an attack, the bulletin recommends reading the Chemical, Biological and Radiological Incident handbook that is available on the CIA Internet site.

Contributing: New York Times News Service.

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