US Attorney General John Ashcroft on Monday warned that associates of the hijackers who crashed passenger airplanes into the twin World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon last week could still be in the United States.
"[FBI Director Robert] Mueller and I discussed the current threat assessment, including our belief that associates of the hijackers may be a continued presence in the United States," Ashcroft told reporters.
He added that additional law enforcement officials from various federal agencies were being assigned to the Federal Aviation Administration to beef up security on passenger planes, and that some 300 US deputy marshals had been deployed to help FBI field offices around the country.
Ashcroft said he and Mueller had also met with congressional leaders over the past two days to finalize a comprehensive package of legislative measures to facilitate surveillance of terrorist suspects as well as identify and seize terrorists' assets -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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