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'Sleeper cells' may be a danger inside U.S., senator says

U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, warns of the threat of terrorist groups inside the United States.

SUMMARY:

Dozens of al Qaeda terrorists in "sleeper" cells and members of other terrorist groups pose a threat to the United States on the domestic front, according to the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"The estimate is that there are 100 or more al Qaeda operatives inside the United States, some who have been here for a considerable period of time, all of whom went through a training process to prepare them to carry out terrorist plots when they were called upon to do so," U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, said Friday on CNN's "Novak, Hunt and Shields. "

In Pakistan, the nation's interior minister said investigators "know the names" of the militants who abducted and killed American journalist Daniel Pearl and are taking "the strongest possible actions ... [to] bring them to swift justice."

Pearl's widow, Mariane, released a two-page letter Friday thanking the world for the outpouring of support during the monthlong ordeal of her husband's abduction. (Full story)

A Milan, Italy, court has convicted a Tunisian suspected of heading Osama bin Laden's European logistics operations and ordered him jailed for five years. (Full story)

In the southern Philippines, three bodies have been recovered from a U.S. military helicopter that crashed, killing all 10 people aboard, Pentagon officials said Friday.

About 660 U.S. military personnel have been working in the southern Philippines as part of a joint terrorism-training program with the Philippine government. About 200 of them are based on the island of Mactan. (Full story)

Meanwhile, a suspicious package containing powder found at the U.S. Army's Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia, almost certainly did not contain anthrax, a base spokesman said Saturday. (Full story)

Summary Update Key questions Who's who  CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

UPDATE:

Graham also said that there are perhaps a dozen or more international terrorist organizations other than al Qaeda, some of which also have agents inside the United States. Asked about the possibility of a U.S. attack on Iraq -- which President Bush called part of an "axis of evil" last month in his State of the Union address -- the senator said that it would carry a heavy cost if it were to occur. "Fighting a war inside a city like Baghdad is not going to be a cakewalk and would probably entail significant exposure to casualties," he said.

Pearl was killed as part of a larger plot that included an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, the chief suspect in his death told investigators, The New York Times reported Saturday. The claims by Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Sheikh, who is in Pakistani custody, have not been corroborated, intelligence and law enforcement officials told the newspaper.

In her statement, Mariane Pearl said, "From the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my gratitude to all of the people throughout the world who have given Danny and me support and encouragement." (Full statement)

The chopper that crashed in the Philippines was on a routine trip from the southern island of Basilan -- a stronghold of Muslim rebels -- to Mactan in the southern-central Philippines, where the United States has an air base, the Pentagon said. About 160 U.S. Green Beret commandos flew to Basilan this week to begin training Philippine troops to fight terrorism. (Full story)

A building at Fort McPherson was evacuated Friday after preliminary tests indicated the package contained anthrax. However, a report Saturday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated the package was almost certainly harmless, said Lt. Col. Ken Konstanzer, a base spokesman. "It's 99 percent [certain that it is] not anthrax, but they want to wait a full 24 hours before giving it 100 percent," Konstanzer said.

U.S. and British Special Forces are searching for Osama bin Laden in Indian-controlled Kashmir, London's Daily Telegraph reported Saturday. Quoting an unnamed British defense source, the newspaper said that U.S. Delta Forces and British Special Air Service troops have formed a 40-man unit searching for bin Laden in Kashmir.

KEY QUESTION:

How much should U.S. forces be involved in fighting Philippine terrorists?

Does a suspicious package found at a U.S. Army base contain anthrax?

Will Daniel Pearl's killers be brought to justice?

WHO'S WHO:

Daniel Pearl: Wall Street Journal reporter, 38, kidnapped and slain in Pakistan.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh: Islamic militant now jailed in Pakistan as the suspected ringleader in Pearl's kidnapping.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf: President of Pakistan.

George W. Bush: President of the United States.

Osama bin Laden: A wealthy Saudi expatriate living in Afghanistan whom U.S. authorities cite as the prime mastermind behind terror attacks.