NEW YORK — A tip claiming Al-Qaeda may have sent American terrorists or men carrying U.S. travel documents to attack Washington or New York on the ten year anniversary of 9/11 has heightened security within the two cities.

Though the tip is unconfirmed, it is said to be credible. A CIA informant who has proven reliable in the past approached intelligence officials overseas to say that the men had been ordered by newly minted Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks Sunday by doing harm on U.S. soil.

According to AP, one U.S. official says Al-Qaeda dispatched three men, at least two of whom could be U.S. citizens, to detonate a car bomb in one of the cities. Should that mission prove impossible, the attackers have been told to simply cause as much destruction as they can.

Speaking in New York, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there was “a specific, credible but unconfirmed report that Al-Qaeda, again, is seeking to harm Americans and in particular, to target New York and Washington.”

In a notebook found in the compound of Osama bin Laden after he was killed in May, the Al-Qaeda leader mused about the possibility of mounting an attack on the 9/11 anniversary, and the police in New York and Washington were already on alert for trouble.

According to New York Times, two senior American law enforcement officials said an informer in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region passed word of the plot, intended to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, to American intelligence officers on Wednesday. The informer said two American citizens of Arab ancestry had left Afghanistan, traveled through one or more other countries and reached the United States as recently as last week.

But the informer’s information on the plot was second or third-hand, another official said. It included only a vague physical description of the two men — one described as 5 feet tall, the other 5-foot-8 — and a first name for one, Suliman, that is common in the Middle East. The tipster also described a third conspirator, but he appeared to have traveled to Europe. “All this information is very, very sketchy,” one of the law enforcement officials said.

At Penn Station in New York, transit authority police carried assault rifles and wore helmets and bullet-proof vests as they watched crowds of commuters. Police searched passengers’ bags as they entered the subway, and National Guard troops in camouflage fatigues moved among riders, eyeing packages.

Bomb-sniffing dogs were deployed in the Washington subway, and the police searched vehicles at the Brooklyn Bridge. More bomb sweeps of parking garages were planned; ferries were to be given extra police coverage; and cars parked illegally were to be towed quickly, not just ticketed.

In Washington, Police Chief Cathy Lanier warned that unattended cars parked in suspicious locations or near critical buildings and structures would be towed.

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, issued a statement Friday urging public vigilance. “As we head into the 9/11 anniversary weekend, we continue to urge the American public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement authorities. Simply put, if you see something, say something. We take all threat reporting, including the recent specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information, seriously.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, too, made a point of taking the subway to City Hall. Of the latest threat, the mayor said, “It’s serious, but I think the right answer is to go about your business.”

DENVER — A Colorado woman faces 15 years in prison on federal charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Jamie Paulin ramirez, 32, a US citizen, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court.

Ramirez was charged in an indictment filed in April, along with co-defendant Colleen R. LaRose, of Montgomery County, Pa. On Feb. 1, LaRose, aka “JihadJane, aka “Fatima LaRose,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements and attempted identity theft.

According to court documents, Ramirez, LaRose and others “conspired to obtain military-style training in South Asia and then traveled to and around Europe to participate in and in support of violent jihad,” according to a statement released by the Department of Justice.

In a series of electronic communications dated July 19, 2009, one co-conspirator directed another to recruit online “some brothers that can travel freely . . . with eu passports . . . [A]nd I also need some sisters too.” The co-conspirator further explained that “sister fatima will be in charge of other sister care. . . .[W]e have already organized everything for her. . . . [W]e are will[ing] to die in order to protect her no matter what the risk is.”

Ramirez exchanged e-mail messages with LaRose during the summer of 2009, in which LaRose invited Ramirez to join her in Europe to attend a training camp. For example, on Aug. 1, 2009, LaRose sent electronic communications to Ramirez stating that “soon i will be moving to Europe to be with other brothers & sisters . . . . when i get to europe, i will send for you to come be with me there . . . . [T]his place will be like a training camp as well as a home.”

In electronic communications dated on or about August 7, 2009, CC #2 recruited another individual to find brothers and sisters to go to a “camp for [military-style] training . . . and th[e]n come back to europe to do the job . . . . [T]he job is to [k]nock down some individual[s] that are harming islam.” CC#2 goes on to explain that he is structuring “an ORGANIZATION” divided into a “plan[n]ing team . . . research team . . . action team . . . recruitment team . . . finance team.”

Ramirez accepted LaRose’s invitation to travel to Europe and asked to bring along her minor male child. On Sept, 12, 2009, Ramirez traveled to Ireland with her child with the intent to live and train with jihadists. The day after she arrived in Ireland, Ramirez married CC#2, whom she had never before met in person, in an Islamic ceremony, knowing and intending that her presence in Europe, her marriage to CC#2 and her future actions would provide support for the conspiracy.

“Today’s guilty plea by Jamie Ramirez, coupled with that of Colleen LaRose last month, underscores the evolving nature of the terrorist threat we face,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Hinnen. “Many counterterrorism and law enforcement officials worked tirelessly to deal with the threat these defendants posed; I applaud their efforts and those of all of the national security professionals and prosecutors that work to keep the country safe.”

Top Indian news agencies, quoting police sources, are reporting that the standoff with attackers at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai has ended.

Since Wednesday, 150 people have been killed in the violence that began with well-coordinated attacks at 10 sites across India’s financial capital.

Fifteen non-Indians have also been killed, including two New York-area Rabbis.

Stick with Blast Magazine News for more information.

As part of the breaking news coverage of the sudden attacks that took place today in Mumbai, India, Blast has received webcasts from the South Asian Journalists Association who covered these events via live blog talk radio.

Suketu Mehta, author of “Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found,” Madhu Bhatia Jha, US correspondent for the Indian network Star News and Smriti Mundhra, a NYC-based filmmaker calling from Mumbai and is five blocks from attacks, are sharing their acounts from the attacks which began at 1 a.m., time of India.

Mundhra also explained that, “Its total chaos over here. Army and navy have been called in to assist police. The attackers are everywhere-in hotels, on the streets, in vans. They are firing indiscriminately.”

Blast will continue covering these events.