WASHINGTON, December 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a public nationwide manhunt for five individuals of Middle Eastern descent, who are believed to have illegally entered the U.S. about five days ago.

Coming in the midst of a holiday season, the announcement was certain to spread new jitters among the already edgy public concerned about new deadly attacks on U.S. soil, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Monday, December 30.

The five, whose nationality, U.S. officials assured, was till unclear even to its investigators, have been identified as Abid Noraiz Ali, Iftikhar Khozmai Ali, Mustafa Khan Owasi, Adil Pervez and Akbar Jamal, according to a statement released by the FBI.

Their photographs posted on the agency’s website showed five dark-haired men aged between 19 and 33 wearing casual Western clothes and sporting crew cuts.

However, the FBI cautioned that it has no evidence that the five are connected to any potential terrorist activities. This is a politically sensitive area for the FBI, according to the BBC news online.

It was widely criticized for failing to pursue leads that some say could have prevented the 11 September attacks.

A recent congressional investigation concluded that responsibility for homeland security should be handed to another agency.

It is an idea fiercely resisted by the FBI which now seeks to prove it can keep America safe.

FBI officials warned the names and the dates of birth of the wanted men could be fictitious and offered no indication about their possible whereabouts.

“Although the FBI has no specific information that these individuals are connected to any potential terrorist activities, based upon information developed in the course of on-going investigations, the FBI would like to locate and question these persons,” the bureau pointed out.

The five are suspected of having entered the United States, presumably from Canada, on or around December 24, as most Americans prepared to celebrate Christmas.

It was not immediately clear how the individuals managed to cross the border amid heightened post-September 11 security, whether they traveled individually or as a group, or carried any weapons.

In a telephone interview with AFP, FBI Special Agent John Iannarelli said these questions were still being clarified and tried to present the matter as yet another case of illegal immigration.

“While people enter the country illegally all the time, here we have pictures, names, dates of birth,” he said. “So, there is a very good chance of finding these people.”

But Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman Dan Kane said the FBI, rather than the INS, was the lead agency in this hunt, raising suspicions about its possible counterterrorism aspects.

“When INS and other border security agencies received the information, we implemented additional measures to look for these individuals,” Kane said.

The FBI assured the public it was closely working with federal and local law enforcement agencies in the United States and around the world to apprehend the men.

“Anyone with any information pertaining to these individuals is asked to contact the nearest FBI office,” the statement said.

The appeal for public help follows a series of widely-publicized FBI alerts over the past several months warning about the possibility of Al-Qaeda associates of Osama bin Laden striking again.

A bulletin circulated in mid-November suggested Al-Qaeda operatives might be plotting “spectacular attacks” targeting aviation, oil and nuclear sectors, as well as significant national landmarks.

In October, the bureau interpreted public statements by Bin Laden and his top aide, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, as an indication that Al-Qaeda might have sanctioned another attack on the United States or its interests abroad.

But, speaking in New York earlier this month, FBI Director Robert Mueller sought to assuage public concerns, arguing that Al-Qaeda had been dealt a staggering blow since September 11.

Following the attacks on New York and Washington, the United States has taken into custody more than 3,000 Al-Qaeda leaders and foot soldiers worldwide and charged nearly 200 suspected associates at home with various crimes, according to Mueller.