The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has uncovered what it says was a serious terrorist plot to bomb tunnels in New York City.
A report in the New York Daily News Friday says the attackers wanted to strike subways and detonate a massive amount of explosives in the Holland Tunnel, which links New York and New Jersey.
There was no indication that the plan had advanced beyond the talking phase.
The newspaper says the plotters hoped the attack on the tunnel would send waters from the Hudson River into lower Manhattan.
Security experts note the plan would have failed because the area is above water level.
New York Senator Charles Schumer told CNN television the plot was caught in its early stages and that the plotters did not seem to be very intelligent.
Law enforcement officials say Lebanese authorities have arrested one person with alleged al-Qaida links in connection with the plot.
The Daily News quotes a U.S. counter-terrorism source who said the plotters got a pledge of financial and tactical support from Jordanian associates of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi before he was killed in June.
It was not clear how much support, if any, the plotters received.
New York Representative Peter King told CNN that officials informed him of the plot nine months ago.
It was not immediately clear why the information became public now.
Last month, top law enforcement officials heralded the break-up of what they called an al-Qaida-linked plot to blow up the Sears tower in Chicago.
Despite the high profile given those arrests, sources indicated the plotters did not have the means to carry out their plan.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and REUTERS.
