Washington: The al-Qaida is preparing for a strike in the United States, using the information it had gathered before the September 11, 2002 attacks, according to a US media report.

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) suspects that in March 2001, al-Qaida scouts were sent to Texas to scope out President George Bush's ranch in Crawford, and to case a major port in Freeport, Texas," 'Newsweek' magazine reported.

According to a US intelligence documents, the al-Qaida's mission 'may constitute preoperational activity', according to the magazine.

The FBI also has evidence that the al-Qaida may have carried out other scouting activities.

FBI sources told the newsweekly that in 2002, al-Qaida Number 3 Khaled Sheikh Mohammed ordered members of the network to identify gas-heated buildings that would potentially explode.

Mohammed, considered to be the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, was arrested in March 2002 in Pakistan, and handed to US authorities.

Other al-Qaida members carried out major intelligence research on power stations, dams, transportation and bridges, the magazine said.

PTI