FBI: Suicide Bombers Are a Top Concern
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Suicide bombers have not hit America since the terrorist hijacking attacks of September 11, 2001, but they remain a constant concern because of their prevalence around the globe and determination to die for their causes, according to the FBI’s chief of counterterrorism.
He does not believe America is overflowing with homegrown terrorists, but Joseph Billy said “a significant number” of attacks have been thwarted since 2001.
While declining to divulge the nature of the averted plots, Mr. Billy credited intelligence that led to either fortified security around potential targets or identification of suspected terrorists. Authorities recently stopped homegrown plots targeting the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey and a jet fuel pipeline at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Mr. Billy, the FBI assistant director in charge of counterterrorism, has declined to comment on the recent British bombings because he did not want to interfere.
He stressed the need for diligence, saying people plotting against America from within are more familiar with potential targets than foreign terrorists and can move around more easily.
