Officials fear terrorists will try new tactic

WASHINGTON — After disrupting two recent terrorism plots, American intelligence officials are increasingly concerned that extremist groups in Pakistan linked to al-Qaida are planning smaller operations in the United States that are harder to detect but more likely to succeed than the spectacular attacks they once emphasized, senior counterterrorism officials said.
The two cases — one involving two Chicago men accused last week of planning an attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, the other a 24-year-old Denver shuttle bus driver indicted in a plot to use improvised explosives — are among the most serious in years, the officials said. In both, the officials said, the main defendants are long-term residents of the United States with substantial community ties who traveled to Pakistan's tribal areas, where they apparently trained with extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida.
The officials, from American military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, spoke on the condition that they not be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the cases.
According to FBI documents, David Coleman Headley, 49, the principal defendant in the Chicago case, met with Ilyas Kashmiri, who is regarded by Western authorities as one of the most dangerous Islamic militants operating in Pakistan's restive tribal areas.
Kashmiri turned to terrorism after serving as a Pakistani special operations commando, ..more..http://www.twincities.com/ci_13686533?nclick_check=1