U.S. Expecting More al-Qaida Bombings

U.S. counterterrorism officials said Saturday they expect additional al-Qaida bombings at lightly defended targets in Asia and Africa. Officials speaking a day after explosions killed dozens in Morocco described strong suspicions that al-Qaida was behind the suicide attacks in Casablanca, noting they resembled attacks Monday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. This includes near-simultaneous bombings at multiple locations. Another common thread is that both attacks involved relatively simple suicide bombings launched against “soft” targets that, unlike embassies or military bases, have limited defenses, officials said. “We can expect more of these,” said one official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Intelligence indicates that al-Qaida has planned a series of bombings at targets are the world, officials have said. But there apparently was limited information that pointed toward Morocco as a target. Recent State Department travel warnings — a barometer of terrorism intelligence gathered by the CIA and other agencies — did not single out Morocco as a particular target. Full Story