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Qaeda Trying to Harness Toxin for Bombs, U.S. Officials Fear

(New York Times) Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker - American counterterrorism officials are increasingly concerned that the most dangerous regional arm of al-Qaeda is trying to produce the lethal poison ricin, to be packed around small explosives for attacks against the U.S. For more than a year, according to classified intelligence reports, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen has been making efforts to acquire large quantities of castor beans, which are required to produce ricin, a white, powdery toxin that is so deadly that just a speck can kill if it is inhaled or reaches the bloodstream. Intelligence officials say the evidence points to efforts to secretly concoct batches of the poison, pack them around small explosives, and then try to explode them in contained spaces, like a shopping mall, an airport or a subway station.
2011-08-15 00:00:00
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