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Five on terror alert list in Yemeni jail

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Five men identified in an FBI security alert this week are in a Yemeni prison, law enforcement sources told CNN on Thursday.

Publicly, the FBI would only say the terror suspects had been located. But other sources said the men were already in prison when authorities identified them and announced the latest terror alert on Monday night.

Suspected attackers found in Yemen Issam Ahmad Dibwan al-Makhlafi Ahmad al-Akhader Nasser Albidani Bashir Ali Nasser al-Sharari Abdulaziz Muhammad Saleh Bin Otash Shuhour Abdullah Mukbil al-Sabri Read the FBI statement EXTRA INFORMATION Gallery: Terror suspects still at large

The Justice Department said that a Yemeni man, identified as Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, and 17 others may be planning to attack U.S. interests as early as this week. The five men located Thursday were among the ringleader's associates, sources said.

Attorney General John Ashcroft called on "all Americans to be on the highest state of alert" on Tuesday, the day after the FBI issued its alert warning of a possible imminent terrorist attack.

The alert was based on information garnered from U.S. military forces in Afghanistan and from interviews with Afghan war detainees at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Ashcroft said.

The White House said the information came from multiple sources and mentioned a specific date -- Tuesday, February 12 -- senior Bush administration officials said.