Authorities say they have disrupted a plot to bomb train tunnels that run between New Jersey and lower Manhattan. An FBI official says that of the eight people believed to be involved, three are in custody overseas -- including the alleged mastermind, held by Lebanese authorities.
The announcement of the foiled attempt to attack the infrastructure under the Hudson River came after part of the story was leaked to the New York Daily News. The paper was one of many to criticize cuts in Homeland Security anti-terrorism funding for the New York area.
The year-long investigation involved the interception of online discussions among a 31-year-old Lebanese man and seven other conspirators. Unlike several other high-profile terror cases, the FBI says this case did not involve a sting operation in which agents pretend to be part of the plot.
Mark Mershon, who runs the New York office of the FBI, says a Lebanese man has confessed to authorities there that he intended to blow up tunnels used by the PATH train system.
The man, identified as Assem Hammoud of Beirut, is said to have pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Mershon declined to provide further details about other suspects or which six foreign governments aided the investigation.
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