New York: Security in financial districts and around offices of international organisations in New York, Washington, and northern New Jersey was put into highest gear after the Federal intelligence agencies reported that they had "specific and credible" information that al-Qaeda planned attacks on these targets before the US Presidential elections on November 2.

For the first time, intelligence agencies identified specific targets and said that car or truck bombs could be the preferred form of attack.

This is also the first time that the threat level in only targeted areas has been raised to Orange - high alert - while keeping it at orange-elevated - for the rest of the country.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, who held high level discussion with security officials and people managing buildings in the financial districts in New York, identified the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, Prudential Financial in northern New Jersey and Citigroup and New York Stock Exchange in New York as the possible targets.

"Additionally we are concerned about targets beyond these and are working to get more information," he told a press conference yesterday (August 1, 2004).

Security around the 39-story United Nations headquarters in New York, a glass and steel structure, on the banks of the East River, was beefed up and patrolling increased.

The warning comes about a month before the Republican Convention in New York which US President George W Bush and top Government and party officials would attend.

Stating that the information this time was credible, "new and unusually specific," Ridge said the measures being put in place-included creation of special buffer zones to secure perimeters of buildings from unauthorised cars and trucks, restrictions to underground parking, keeping track of people entering and exiting building using batches and digital photos, increased enforcement presence and robust screening of vehicles, packages and deliveries.

"These and other security measures, both seen and unseen, create added layers of protection to an already vigorous security effort across the country," he added.

Ridge said "smart security professionals" and state-of-art technologies would be put in place in addition to the security measures already being taken for the Republican Party convention, which is being held at Madison Square Gardens in the heart of the city.

The alert asked major firms that they step up security especially in parking areas, guard against vehicles rigged with explosives and keep a watch on their ventilation systems for possible chemical agents.

Alarm bells rang after a woman of Pakistani origin, Farida Goolam Mohamed, illegally crossed into the United States from Mexico and was apprehended with a South African passport with several pages torn, 7,000 dollars in cash and an airplane ticket to New York, media reports suggested.

Earlier, the authorities had received a tip-off from an overseas source that al Qaeda might try to smuggle non-Arabs across the Mexican border for carrying out attacks, the reports said.