WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Terrorists linked with al-Qaida are planning attacks on the United States on a scale similar to Sept. 11, 2001, CIA Director George Tenet said Tuesday.
Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Tenet said, "Across the operational spectrum -- air, maritime, special weapons -- we have time and again uncovered plots that are chilling."
Tenet said al-Qaida and "more than two dozen other terrorist groups" are seeking to obtain chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, the LA Times reported Tuesday.
Delivering his annual assessment of worldwide threats, Tenet said al-Qaida has been "seriously damaged" by U.S. and international efforts since the Sept. 11 attacks, but the group remains committed to attacking the U.S. homeland.
Tenet also warned local and regional extremist Islamic groups inspired by al-Qaida "have become the next wave of the terrorist threat.
Tenet conceded the unexpected growth of the CIA station in Iraq has created "a very large drain" on the agency's resources and personnel elsewhere in the world.
