Washington ? The FBI issued a worldwide alert Thursday for Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, a Saudi who government officials said may be plotting terrorist attacks against the United States as part of al-Qaida.

A senior law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FBI believes the 27-year-old Saudi received flight training, possibly in Florida. A second senior source said El Shukrijumah possessed a Florida driver’s license.

Officials said El Shukrijumah’s organizing capabilities are comparable to those of Mohammed Atta, the suspected organizer of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudis and some, including Atta, received flight training in Florida.

The FBI is asking for help from law enforcement and the public in locating El Shukrijumah, who officials say may have been in the Miami area before he disappeared.

“El Shukrijumah is possibly involved with al-Qaida terrorist activities and, if true, poses a serious threat to U.S. citizens and interests worldwide,” the FBI said in a statement.

In California, Highway Patrol Commissioner Dwight Helmick told reporters that police are double-checking tanker trucks that haul gasoline and other combustible substances because the suspect “has been known to utilize gasoline-type haulers” in the past. Helmick did not elaborate on that potential threat but said he had been briefed on the FBI alert.

El Shukrijumah is described as about 5-foot-4 and 132 pounds, though he may be heavier. He has black hair, black eyes and a Mediterranean complexion, and may be wearing a beard, the FBI said.

Although born in Saudi Arabia, the FBI said El Shukrijumah carries a passport from Guyana. He also could have passports from Saudi Arabia, Canada or Trinidad.

He has used many aliases, including Adnan G. El Shukri Jumah, Abu Arif, Ja’far Al-Tayer and Jaffar Al-Tayyar,