Terror mag shows U.S. airport, says "pack your tools of destruction"

SAN FRANCISCO -- A picture of San Francisco International Airport has been prominently placed in a propaganda magazine published by al Qaeda, CBS station KPIX-TV reports.

The FBI insists there is no specific threat to the San Francisco Bay area.

In the spring issue of the al Qaeda magazine Inspire, a picture of the AirTrain at SFO is featured prominently. The AirTrain connects all the airport terminals with the Bay Area Rapid Transit light rail system, known as BART, terminal garages and the rental car center.

Below the photo, a caption in Arabic reads, "stand up, pack your tools of destruction. Assemble your bomb, ready for detonation."

"The San Francisco area is depicted in this al Qaeda publication," said East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell. He raised the issue in a Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday in Washington.

"What we believe from what senior law enforcement officials have told us is that this is AirTrain from San Francisco's airport and that the translation from the Arabic message encourages al Qaeda members to detonate explosive devices," Swalwell said.

"Scares the heck out of me," said Rich Brown of Sausalito, Calif., who was traveling through the airport Wednesday night. "You just don't know when it could happen. It could happen any place."

Former FBI agent Rick Smith, who is now a security expert, said, "I mean, I think there should be some concern. I don't know if I'd change any travel plans based on this."

Smith said the message appears to be a call to action.

"They're not appealing to al Qaeda members so much as wannabes or local talent or amateurs, but those people can be dangerous if you look at the Boston Marathon," Smith said, referring to the bombings at the finish line of last year's race.

Police said the Boston bombers used instructions from the same magazine to build their homemade pressure cooker bombs.