Terrorists' Website Calls for Alaskan Oil Attacks

Published Jan 31, 2006 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

A Web site said to be affiliated with 'al Qaeda' is calling for attacks on oil and gas facilities in Alaska, according to SITE, a nonprofit organization that monitors Muslim jihad activities.

The 12-page report on the Web site provided detailed Internet links to maps and information about the Alyeska Pipeline and Port Valdez, where tankers load North Slope crude, according to Rita Katz, Director of SITE.

The posting was found in late December on a password-accessible Web site which is currently down, Katz said. "This is part of the economic attack on the American economy called for by Ayman al-Zawahri," said Katz, referring to al Qaeda's second-in-command.

Separately, a new audio tape attributed to Osama bin Laden on Thursday said that al Qaeda was preparing new attacks inside the United States. The Web posting cited by SITE contains information on oil production and reserves in Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, California, and Oklahoma, SITE said.

The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, formed in 1970, operates the Trans-Alaska Pipeline from the North Slope oilfields to the Valdez terminal in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The U.S. Coast Guard officer said they were aware of the Web site, but were unable to comment on it. A spokesperson from Alyeska was not immediately available for comment.