2001 Anthrax Attacks Made Simply
BALTIMORE (AP) — Army scientists have reproduced the deadly anthrax powder mailed in letters two years ago and concluded that it was made using simple methods, inexpensive equipment and limited expertise, according to a report published Friday.
The (Baltimore) Sun, citing sources it did not identify, said the scientists have concluded that the powder could have cost only a few thousand dollars to create.
The findings reinforce the FBI theory that the mailed anthrax was probably produced by renegade scientists and not by a national military program.
But the research, carried out at the Army’s biodefense center at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, also raises the possibility that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups could create lethal bioweapons without scientific or financial help from a state.
Van Harp, assistant FBI director in charge of the Washington Field Office, who oversees the anthrax investigation, declined to comment to the newspaper on what he called “uninformed speculation.”
Anthrax-laced letters were mailed on Sept. 18 and Oct. 9, 2001, and addressed to media organizations and two U.S. senators. The attack killed five people and sickened at least 17 others. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to clean up government offices and postal facilities.
FBI and Postal Inspection Service agents initially considered a link to the Sept. 11 hijackers or Iraq. But after genetic analysis showed the anthrax was derived from a strain used in the U.S. military biodefense program, investigators concentrated their effort on a domestic source.
Since last summer, agents have focused much of their attention on Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, a former bioweapons expert. Hatfill, 49, a lecturer and consultant on bioterrorism, has adamantly denied any connection to the anthrax letters.
—
On the Net:
More science, space, and technology from RedNova
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.