FBI Hunts 'Al Qaeda Field Commander'
March 20 -- The FBI is hunting for a suspected terrorist likened to lead 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta, and ramping up efforts across America to thwart potential terror attacks.
The heightened security around the country includes a massive campaign to interview potential terror suspects and informants, and quick responses to all possible reports of threats — including word that the largest nuclear power plant in the nation may have been targeted.
The FBI issued a "be on the lookout" alert for Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, asking all law enforcement personnel to notify the bureau immediately if he is located.
Sources described El Shukrijumah as an al Qaeda field commander who trained under alleged terror financier Ramzi Binalshibh. They told ABCNEWS that the 27-year-old lived for years in Florida, and was identified by captured al Qaeda attack planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Binalshibh and Mohammed are both in U.S. custody in undisclosed locations.
Mohammed also said that El Shukrijumah had been sent to the United States to carry out an operation, probably via Canada, sources said. He also may be linked to a so-called dirty bomb plot in which American Jose Padilla has been accused, they said.
The FBI said El Shukrijumah's whereabouts are unknown, but it is believed that he was in the United States shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The bureau is trying to trace his movements since then. At one point, he lived in South Florida near some of the 9/11 hijackers, officials believe.
"El Shukrijumah is possibly involved with al Qaeda terrorist activities and, if true, poses a serious threat to U.S. citizens and interests worldwide," the FBI said in its alert.
Believed to Have Trained as Pilot
El Shukrijumah was born in Saudi Arabia and is thought to be a terror operative on the level of Atta, the lead hijacker in the Sept. 11 attacks, sources said. One source described him as a "real bad guy."
He is described as 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5, 132 pounds, with a Mediterranean complexion, black hair and black eyes. He occasionally wears a beard.
