Inside Al-Qaeda's Files
The discovery of computer materials belonging to al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan led American officials to warn of threats to specific facilities inside the U.S. Several hard drives and 51 computer discs recovered in Pakistan provide evidence that al-Qaeda has conducted extensive surveillance of U.S. targets. Surveillance reports found on the computers contain some 500 photographs of targeted buildings and discussions about how to hit them. A senior U.S. law-enforcement official gave TIME's Adam Zagorin a partial inventory of the material, including descriptions of potential attacks in the terrorists' words

LAWRENCE JACKSON / AP
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WORLD BANK / IMF
DATA GATHERED
The computer files contain photographs of the heads of the institutions, as well as a photo of British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who attends annual IMF meetings. A book or pamphlet describing the layout of the World Bank was scanned into the computer in its entirety in February 2003

POSSIBLE PLOT
Unclear, though it may involve a vehicle-borne bomb Because of the high security surrounding the buildings, the operatives conclude that mounting an attack would be "tricky"
FROM THE AUG. 16, 2004 ISSUE OF TIME MAGAZINE; POSTED SUNDAY, AUG. 8, 2004

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