WASHINGTON — The United States has warned oil companies operating in North Africa of an al Qaeda plot — possibly using shoulder-launched missiles to fire at their headquarters or planes.
The disclosure yesterday came as government officials said the United States would take an increasingly active role to secure thousands of rocket launchers, mines and small arms from Moammar Khadafy’s once-vast arsenal in Libya.
The US Embassy in Algeria received information about the al Qaeda threat, then quickly alerted potential targets, the State Department said.
The warning highlights the urgency of the Obama administration’s effort to help Libya’s opposition government lock up as many weapons as possible to prevent them from fueling an insurgency or falling into the hands of al Qaeda operating across North Africa.
US officials said yesterday that they are sending additional weapons experts to Libya to help train local units to locate and destroy weapons — including an estimated 20,000 shoulder-fired missiles, called MANPADs, which can be used to attack jetliners or helicopters.
A US official said the terror threat was related to MANPADs that may have been obtained by terrorists affiliated with al Qaeda’s North Africa wing.
The United States already has two technical experts in Libya, training the Western-backed rebel authorities in weapons destruction.