Summertime terrorist attack a U.S. concern

On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune that he had a ‘gut feeling’ about a new period of increased risk. He based his assessment on earlier patterns of terrorists in Europe and intelligence he would not disclose.

‘Summertime seems to be appealing to them,’ Chertoff said in his discussion with the newspaper about terrorists. ‘We worry that they are rebuilding their activities.’

Other U.S. counterterrorism officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, shared Chertoff’s concern and said that al-Qaida and like-minded groups have been able to plot and train more freely in the tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border in recent months. Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, are believed to be hiding in the rugged region.

Al-Qaida and its sympathizers have shown an interest in summertime attacks. Some examples:

‘ In 2005, London faced two separate sets of transit attacks. The July 7 attacks on three trains and a bus killed 52. A second attack July 21 was bungled when the detonators failed to light the explosives.

‘ Last summer, international counterterror authorities said they foiled a plot to use liquid explosives to take down roughly 10 U.S.-bound airliners leaving Britain.