A photo of San Francisco International Airport was placed in a propaganda magazine published by al-Qaida and has caused alarm. However the FBI says there is no threat to the airport or San Francisco currently.
The spring issue of the al-Qaida magazine "Inspire" prominently features a picture of the AirTran at SFO. The AirTran connects all the airport terminals with BART as well as garages and a rental car center, KPIX 5 reports.
The caption below the photo is even more alarming. The caption, in Arabic, reads, "...stand up, pack your tools of destruction. Assemble your bomb, ready for detonation."
Concerned over the fact that the magazine depicts the San Francisco area, East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell brought it up at a Homeland Security committee hearing Wednesday in Washington.
"What we believe from what senior law enforcement officials have told us is that this is AirTrain from San Francisco's airport, and that the translation from the Arabic message encourages al-Qaida members to detonate explosive devices," Slalwell said.
However according to a spokesman for the FBI who spoke to KPIX 5, there is no direct threat against the airport or the area. Even so, travelers are still uneasy.
"Scares the heck out of me, you just don't know when it could happen, it could happen any place," traveler Rich Brown of Sausalito told KPIX 5.
"I mean I think there should be some concern. I don't' know if I'd change any travel plans based on this," former FBI agent Rick Smith, who is now a security expert said. He added that the ad appears to be a call to action to amateurs. "They're not appealing to al-Qaida members so much as wannabes or local talent or amateurs. But those people can be dangerous if you look at the Boston Marathon," Smith said.
According to police, the Boston Marathon bombers got ideas from the Al Qaida magazine to learn how to build their homemade pressure cooker bombs that went off at the finish line of the big race, killing three and injuring many more.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
