(
)
The tip on the terror threat that had New Yorkers on high alert yesterday came from a reliable CIA informant in Pakistan who “has not been wrong before,” sources told The Post.
The informant told the agency that new al Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri personally recruited three terrorists — at least two of whom are believed to be US citizens or have US traveling papers — to launch car bomb attacks in the city or Washington, DC, to avenge the killing of terror lord Osama bin Laden.
US authorities suspect one American “is here” already, a counter-terrorism source told The Post.
COMPLETE 9/11 ANNIVERSARY COVERAGE
Officials also believe the plot calls for the bombers not to commit suicide — as the 9/11 hijackers did — but to flee after setting the explosives as those who pulled off the 1998 attacks on two US embassies in Africa did, the source said.
The informant told US intelligence the trio may attempt an attack similar to Faizal Shahzad’s failed Times Square car bombing last year, according to an FBI bulletin.
“This person has not been wrong before,” an official said. “That source has been reliable in the past.”
The trio “may have met up with a small cell or other suspects” in the United States, a source told the iPad news mag The Daily.
Al-Zawahiri coordinated with the Taliban in Afghanistan to help get the three men out of that country when they “dropped and swapped” passports after arriving from Pakistan, The Daily reported.
After traveling to Dubai, the men then headed to the United States, where they were instructed “to be flexible in their attack.”
A source told The Post the men were instructed to look for “targets of opportunity” in the event they were unable to bomb high-value targets such as bridges and tunnels.
An official said the Pakistani tipster got the plot information “second-hand” — which is why the tip has been called “unconfirmed,” the official said.
“So it dilutes it,” the official said, though the tip is still considered “credible.”
But even if it is a valid tip, authorities are having a tough time finding the would-be bombers.
“Part of the problem is, we don’t have a lot of meat on the bone to go on,” said that official.
Authorities are eyeing the recent theft of a Penske rental truck for any link to this possible plot, or to any terrorism plot in general, sources said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “We, as you know, have specific reporting about a specific and credible threat, but not corroborated, not confirmed.”
Additional reporting by Larry Celona