WASHINGTON – Two men arrested in Amsterdam may have been conducting a dry run for a potential terrorist ******, U.S. officials said Tuesday after a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle and a ***** and box cutters were found in one of the men's luggage.
U.S. investigators are pursuing leads in Detroit, Birmingham, Ala.; and Memphis, Tenn., according to officials speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The arrests come at a time of heightened alert just days before the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 ****** attacks.
On Sunday, authorities found the suspicious items — a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle, multiple cell phones and watches taped together, and a ***** and box cutter — in one of the men's checked luggage in Virginia. The man and his luggage were headed to separate international destinations, which also raised concerns.
None of the items found on the men or in their luggage ******** U.S. security rules. But the items and the men's changing travel itinerary may have been a deliberate test of the U.S. aviation security system to determine what would raise red flags.
