N.Y. Airport Target of Plot, Officials Say - washingtonpost.com

N.Y. Airport Target of Plot, Officials Say - washingtonpost.com: "NEW YORK, June 2 -- Authorities said Saturday that they had broken up an alleged terrorist plot to bomb aviation fuel tanks and pipelines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, arresting a former airport worker and two other men with links to Islamic extremists in South America and the Caribbean.

The lone U.S. resident and alleged leader of the conspiracy, Russell Defreitas, 63, a native of the small South American nation of Guyana, was arrested in Brooklyn. Two others -- one of them a former member of parliament and religious leader in Guyana -- were being held abroad, and a fourth man was being sought by authorities overseas.

The plot did not get beyond the planning stages and had no apparent direct links to al-Qaeda or other Middle Eastern terrorist groups, according to officials and documents released Saturday. But officials said its international scope and the sensitive nature of the target -- one of the United States' busiest airports and a key lifeline between New York and cities worldwide -- caused them to move quickly to secure the arrests.

U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf described the plan at a news conference here Saturday as 'one of the most chilling plots imaginable,' adding that 'the devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable.' The complaint charging the four men quotes one predicting that the attack would cause 'greater destruction than in the Sept. 11 attacks.'" Read complete post here.