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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7872-2004Jun1.html
Al-Qaeda Terror Suspect Planned to Blow Up U.S. Apartment Buildings -
(Washington Post) Dan Eggen - Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen accused of planning to set off a radiological bomb in the U.S., also plotted with some of al-Qaeda's highest-ranking operatives to blow up U.S. apartment buildings using natural gas, according to classified interrogation information released by the government Tuesday. The seven-page summary of the case against Padilla alleges that he met repeatedly with senior al-Qaeda leaders including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Mohammed dispatched Padilla on a mission to blow up as many as 20 apartment buildings by sealing off units, filling them with natural gas, and using timers to set off the explosions. New York was the most likely target, but Washington, Florida, Chicago, and other targets were discussed, said Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey Jr. The government alleges that Padilla first came in contact with terrorist operatives during a trip to Saudi Arabia in March 2000.