WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite the official lowering of the terrorist threat level Thursday, a senior FBI official said an intensive counterterrorism effort to locate potential suicide bombers, sleeper cells, and other terrorist threats within the United States is continuing at a feverish pace.
This official said authorities are monitoring Hezbollah followers within the United States because law enforcement is concerned they could go on the offensive if war with Iraq breaks out. The No. 1 priority for law enforcement, he said, is "the identification of sleeper cells."
"We've been at a red-hot level since 9/11," the official told reporters at an FBI headquarters briefing. "The thing that scares the hell out of me is what's out there that we don't know about."
Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge issued a statement Thursday, lowering the terror threat level from high to elevated -- orange to yellow -- citing the end of the Muslim hajj pilgrimage as a key factor.
At the same time, the officials warned that the country is still in danger of a terror attack.
One of the threats attracting the FBI's attention is the so-called "lone wolf" who, acting on his own, chooses to blow up a selected target.
"How do you identify a suicide bomber? We're always trying to look at that. I'm somewhat shocked we haven't seen some of that in this country," said the FBI official.
He said FBI agents have traveled to Israel and worked with intelligence and law enforcement officials there to try to gain a better understanding of who might be a potential suicide bomber.
"If we get into hostilities are we concerned about people who feel passionate about the Palestinian issue, about the Iraqi issue? We've seen a lot of media attention given to that. We're very concerned about that, and we've taken a lot of steps to be prepared if that should occur," the official told reporters at an FBI headquarters briefing.
Some of the followers of Hezbollah -- a militant Muslim group designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization -- have allegedly taken recent trips to training camps in Lebanon.
Several Hezbollah adherents have been charged by federal authorities with crimes relating to fund raising for political causes, but to date have not engaged in violence within the United States.
FBI behavioral scientists have assisted investigators in developing the profile of a suicide bomber including information relating to an individual's lifestyle, financial practices, and social skills.
No change in many cities
The national threat level was raised from yellow to orange on February 7 based on specific intelligence, the government said.
However, the National League of Cities released a new survey Thursday showing 40 percent of U.S. cities did nothing in response.
Many city officials complained that the threat alert system is not specific enough and said they would like to see a regional alert system that provides more geographic specificity, the organization said.
According to the survey of 402 cities:
• 60 percent did show increased concern
• 72 percent said threat alert system is useful
• 28 percent said system not useful
• 66 said they knew what to do when threat level increased
• 5 percent said they did not know what to do
• 29 percent said they needed more federal guidance about how to respond
Garrett
