The 11 missing planes believed to be in the hands of Libyan terrorists who hijacked the aircrafts from Tripoli Airport last month could be used to wage an attack on the U.S. on the anniversary of Sept. 11, officials warned this week.
For the past two weeks, the U.S. government has been mulling over intelligence reports on the potential plans of the Islamist rebel group
Libyan Dawn, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
"There are a number of commercial airliners in Libya that are missing," one U.S. official told the Free Beacon. "We found out on September 11 what can happen with hijacked planes."
Urgent: Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama's Job Performance? Vote Now in Urgent Poll
The IHS Jane's Intelligence Review discovered last month that Moroccan news accounts were publishing alerts that the country's air force was on the lookout for Libyan jihadists using jetliners to stage 9/11-styled attacks. The review noted that there had been similar news reports posted in the Tunisian and Algerian press in August as well.
The review said at the time that the challenge for the jihadists would be finding pilots with the specialized training to fly the commercial jetliners, finding enough fuel for flights, and then getting the plane to a large enough airfield where it could take off and not be spotted for foreign intelligence.
London's The Daily Mail wrote that Tripoli International Airport is currently being operated by two anti-Islamist militias after Libyan Dawn seized it at the end of August.
The warning precedes next week's September 11 date, which marks the 13th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks in New York City, as well as the second anniversary of the deadly Benghazi attacks.
Urgent: Assess Your Heart Attack Risk in Minutes. Click Here.