Cyanide Attack Threatened if War in Iraq

In terror threats sent to the U.S., Australian and British embassies here, a group calling itself “September 11” claimed it had 55 pounds of cyanide it will use against the America’s Cup yacht race and U.S. interests if Iraq is attacked, police said Thursday. Although the group’s name referred to the 2001 attacks in the United States by the al-Qaida network, national police headquarters spokesman John Neilson said police believed the threat came from within New Zealand. “Certainly there has been no suggestion at this point of any links to any other organization, including international terrorist groups,” he said. A squad of anti-terror police was working to find the author of the four identical letters, which specifically mentioned the America’s Cup yacht race in Auckland. One of the letters, intercepted by postal workers, contained cyanide crystals, and all contained a white powder, said counterterrorism police chief Assistant Commissioner Jon White. Authorities have not identified the powder but have ruled out anthrax. Britain’s Foreign Office confirmed that a package “containing traces of cyanide” had been sent to the British High Commission in Wellington but did not reach the premises. Full Story