WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (AFP) - The United States on Sunday raised its terrorist alert for the financial services districts in New York, Washington and northern New Jersey amid fears al-Qaeda terrorists may carry out new suicide attacks.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told a press conference there was information of an "alarming" specificity of the new risk as he announced that the terror threat level was being raised to "high" (or orange) from "elvated" (or yellow) in each location.
He said the threats affected commercial and financial buildings and that there was a particular risk of truck and car bombs.
Ridge said there were specific intelligence reports of a threat to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank buildings in Washington and the New York Stock Exchange and Citibank buildings in New York as well as Prudential Financial buildings in New Jersey as potential targets.
Al Qaeda carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that left about 3,000 dead.
"Al-Qaeda wants to intimidate us," Ridge said, before adding: "Our resolve is indivisible and unyielding."