DUBAI (Reuters) - A call for holy war on Americans and Jews, apparently made by Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s top aide, raised fears Wednesday of a new terror attack, as a source said Saudi Arabia foiled a Sept. 11-style hijack.
U.S. military bases went on their highest alert following bloody suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco last week.
Al-Jazeera television aired an audio tape it said was from Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's top lieutenant, who urged Muslims to strike at the embassies and commercial interests of the United States, Britain, Australia and, oddly, Norway.
A Saudi source said a suicide airliner attack had been thwarted by the arrest of three Moroccans, rejecting comments by Interior Minister Prince Nayef that no such plot had existed. Britain's envoy said the oil-rich kingdom was riskier than ever.
Egypt tightened security near embassies, foreigners' homes and tourist sites, anxious it might suffer the next blow after suicide bombings killed 34 people in Riyadh, mostly foreigners, and 41 in Casablanca.
Bin Laden's loosely spread al Qaeda network was blamed for the Riyadh attacks, while Morocco has said the Casablanca attacks were linked to international terrorism.
Oil prices rose sharply amid warnings of further attacks. Analysts said last week's bombings helped reverse a 25-percent slide in oil prices since mid-March.
President Bush (news - web sites) sought to reassure anxious Americans.
"America will not relent... We will hunt the terrorists in every dark corner of the earth," he said.
Washington also put pressure on Tehran, saying it had told Iraq (news - web sites)'s neighbor this week to crack down on suspected al Qaeda members it believes operate there despite official denials.
U.S. officials said the Defense Intelligence Agency had raised its warning of possible terror attack against military facilities and bases in the United States to its highest level.
The officials said additional anti-aircraft missile systems would be deployed and air patrols in the Washington area increased.
Tuesday the U.S. government -- worried the recent bombings could presage attempts to strike on American soil -- raised its general terror alert status to the second-highest level.
CODED MESSAGE IN AIDE'S WORDS?
Earlier taped messages from bin Laden have been seen as signs of impending attacks and the latest words purported to be from his aide will be pored over by Western and Middle Eastern security agencies.
"The crusaders and the Jews only understand the language of murder, bloodshed ... and of the burning towers," Zawahri was heard to say on the tape broadcast by Qatar-based Jazeera.
That reference to the destruction of New York's World Trade Center towers in 2001, with the loss of some 3,000 lives, was not followed by any comment on the Saudi and Moroccan bombings.
The tape appeared to date from the early days of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, an invasion some experts had warned could spark revenge attacks by Muslim extremists. Britain and Australia sent troops to Iraq, though Norway opposed the war.
A U.S. intelligence official said the CIA (news - web sites) was analyzing the tape.
In February, bin Laden urged Muslims to free themselves and said: "The most eligible for liberation are Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen."
A Saudi source said three armed Moroccan al Qaeda suspects had planned to hijack a civilian plane and crash into landmarks in the kingdom, but were arrested at Jeddah airport Monday.
The interior minister denied it, saying only two Moroccans had been arrested and were wanted over previous security cases.
But the source -- a senior official in the Saudi security service -- stood by his comments. "They were planning a suicide hijack to attack Saudi landmarks," he told Reuters.
Britain's ambassador Derek Plumbly said the terror threat in Saudi Arabia was now of a "completely new order."
"We've now got information, non-specific information about targets and so on, that an attack or attacks might actually be imminent," he said in a radio interview.
Britain, the United States and Germany shut their embassies after the Saudi envoy to Washington said Monday he feared a large attack was imminent, there or in the United States.
U.S. military bases went on their highest alert following bloody suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco last week.
Al-Jazeera television aired an audio tape it said was from Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's top lieutenant, who urged Muslims to strike at the embassies and commercial interests of the United States, Britain, Australia and, oddly, Norway.
A Saudi source said a suicide airliner attack had been thwarted by the arrest of three Moroccans, rejecting comments by Interior Minister Prince Nayef that no such plot had existed. Britain's envoy said the oil-rich kingdom was riskier than ever.
Egypt tightened security near embassies, foreigners' homes and tourist sites, anxious it might suffer the next blow after suicide bombings killed 34 people in Riyadh, mostly foreigners, and 41 in Casablanca.
Bin Laden's loosely spread al Qaeda network was blamed for the Riyadh attacks, while Morocco has said the Casablanca attacks were linked to international terrorism.
Oil prices rose sharply amid warnings of further attacks. Analysts said last week's bombings helped reverse a 25-percent slide in oil prices since mid-March.
President Bush (news - web sites) sought to reassure anxious Americans.
"America will not relent... We will hunt the terrorists in every dark corner of the earth," he said.
Washington also put pressure on Tehran, saying it had told Iraq (news - web sites)'s neighbor this week to crack down on suspected al Qaeda members it believes operate there despite official denials.
U.S. officials said the Defense Intelligence Agency had raised its warning of possible terror attack against military facilities and bases in the United States to its highest level.
The officials said additional anti-aircraft missile systems would be deployed and air patrols in the Washington area increased.
Tuesday the U.S. government -- worried the recent bombings could presage attempts to strike on American soil -- raised its general terror alert status to the second-highest level.
CODED MESSAGE IN AIDE'S WORDS?
Earlier taped messages from bin Laden have been seen as signs of impending attacks and the latest words purported to be from his aide will be pored over by Western and Middle Eastern security agencies.
"The crusaders and the Jews only understand the language of murder, bloodshed ... and of the burning towers," Zawahri was heard to say on the tape broadcast by Qatar-based Jazeera.
That reference to the destruction of New York's World Trade Center towers in 2001, with the loss of some 3,000 lives, was not followed by any comment on the Saudi and Moroccan bombings.
The tape appeared to date from the early days of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, an invasion some experts had warned could spark revenge attacks by Muslim extremists. Britain and Australia sent troops to Iraq, though Norway opposed the war.
A U.S. intelligence official said the CIA (news - web sites) was analyzing the tape.
In February, bin Laden urged Muslims to free themselves and said: "The most eligible for liberation are Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen."
A Saudi source said three armed Moroccan al Qaeda suspects had planned to hijack a civilian plane and crash into landmarks in the kingdom, but were arrested at Jeddah airport Monday.
The interior minister denied it, saying only two Moroccans had been arrested and were wanted over previous security cases.
But the source -- a senior official in the Saudi security service -- stood by his comments. "They were planning a suicide hijack to attack Saudi landmarks," he told Reuters.
Britain's ambassador Derek Plumbly said the terror threat in Saudi Arabia was now of a "completely new order."
"We've now got information, non-specific information about targets and so on, that an attack or attacks might actually be imminent," he said in a radio interview.
Britain, the United States and Germany shut their embassies after the Saudi envoy to Washington said Monday he feared a large attack was imminent, there or in the United States.
