U.S. Intel Concerned Stolen Libyan Airliners Could Be Used In Sept. 11 Anniversary Attack

Nearly a dozen stolen jetliners have been in the hands of Islamic terrorists since last month, and now U.S. intelligence agencies are concerned they could be used to target New York and Washington D.C. on the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.

Western intelligence agencies recently issued a warning that the jets could be used in terrorist attacks ranging from North Africa to the U.S. homeland, and intelligence reports of the stolen jetliners were distributed within the U.S. government over the past two weeks.

“There are a number of commercial airliners in Libya that are missing,” said one official. “We found out on September 11 what can happen with hijacked planes.”

The Washington Free Beacon reported that the aircraft were reportedly taken by the Islamic militant group, Dawn of Libya, in late August following the takeover of Tripoli International Airport, which is located about 20 miles south of the capital. Tunisia halted flights from other Libyan airports at Tripoli, Sirte and Misrata, while Egypt also halted flights to and from Libya.

Military forces in North Africa, including those from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt have been placed on heightened alert as a result.

An Islamic militant group said Sunday it had “secured” a U.S. Embassy in Libya’s capital city of Tripoli. Shortly after, a video surfaced — viewable below — showing men playing in a pool at the compound. U.S. Ambassador to Libya Deborah Jones said the video appeared to have been shot in at the embassy’s residential annex.

The official said the aircraft are a serious counterterrorism concern because reports of terrorist control over the Libyan airliners come three weeks before the 13th anniversary of 9/11 attacks. On Sept. 11, 2012, the 11th anniversary of the attacks, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, and State Department information management officer Sean Smith were killed in a terror attack on a U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya.

The Obama administration initially said was the result of a spontaneous demonstration against an anti-Muslim video. The House voted 232-186 in May to establish a select committee on Benghazi, with 7 Democrats joining the 225 Republicans voting in favor. The vote marked the official launch of a serious investigation into the withholding of information and potential cover up of a terrorist attack that took place during the 2012 president campaign, when President Obama was barnstorming the country on the campaign trail claiming Al Qaeda was on the run.

“Osama bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive,” were the words spoken at a Nevada fundraiser the day after the terror attack in Benghazi. Until this day, no one can account for the president’s actions or location during the night of the attack.