The United States on Sunday raised the terror alert level for the financial centers in New York, northern New Jersey and Washington D.C., US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said at a press conference.

"Today the United States government is raising the threat level to Code Orange for the financial services sector in New York City, northern New Jersey and Washington D.C.," Ridge said.

The color-coded terror threat level was being raised to "high" (orange) from "elevated" (yellow), Ridge said.

There were specific intelligence reports of a threat to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank buildings in Washington, the New York Stock Exchange and Citi group buildings in New York as well as Prudential Financial buildings in northern New Jersey as potential targets, Ridge said.

The IMF and World Bank headquarters are located in central Washington near the White House. The New York Stock Exchange is located in the Wall Street, the heart of New York's financial street and there are many large financial institutions in New Jersey.

Ridge said the senior leadership across the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal agencies, "has been in constant contact with the governors, the mayors, and the Homeland security advisers of the affected locations just named."

Ridge said that although there was no specific information indicating an imminent attack, intelligence showed that the al-Qaeda network, blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, was aiming again for the world's leading financial districts.

"The quality of this intelligence based on multiple reporting streams in multiple locations is rarely seen, and it is alarming in both the amount and specificity of the information," Ridge said.

"The preferred means of attack would be car or truck bombs. That would be a primary means of attack," Ridge said, adding that the threat potential remains through the Nov. 2 presidential elections.

"Car and truck bombs are one of the most difficult tasks we have in the war on terror," Ridge said.

Nonetheless, Ridge said the US resolve was "indivisible and unyielding" despite that the al-Qaeda threat.

"I ask our citizens for their watchful eyes as we continue to monitor this situation," Ridge said.

Ridge reassured the Americans that while the threat level was raised for the financial districts in the affected communities, "the rest of the nation remains at an elevated or Code Yellow risk of terrorist attack."

The most talented security professional and law enforcement professional around this country are working hard every single day to protect all regions of this country and all sectors of our economy," Ridge said.

The move came as the New York Police Department, responding to new information that terrorists may be planning to attack corporations or large public institutions in the city, advised security managers and corporate security personnel to step up their procedures to guard against vehicles rigged with explosives and against chemical agents placed in ventilation systems.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2004)