The FBI has revealed new details of the alleged plotted to bomb a New York commuter tunnel.

• Mark Mershon, Assistant Director of the FBI’s New York office: “For most of the year we have been focusing on a group of al-Qaeda followers who have targeted the Hudson River tubes that connect New Jersey with lower Manhattan. We believe we intercepted this group early in their plotting and in fact the plan has largely been disrupted. We’ve identified a number of the players around the globe, some of whom are in custody of foreign services.”

Initial reports had listed the target as the Holland Tunnel. Three people are in custody, including alleged mastermind Assem Hammoud in Lebanon. Authorities say Hammoud was arrested with blueprints of the targets and plans for bombing them on his computer. They say he later confessed to Lebanese authorities he was acting on orders from Osama bin Laden. But questions are being raised about the case. A senior intelligence official told CBS News the alleged plot amounted to “jihadist bravado” and never reached beyond talking over the internet. Officials also said investigators determined the tunnels were being targeted after piecing together code words from the online conversations. Hammoud’s mother says her son is an economics teacher who drinks alcohol and has showed no signs of being a religious extremist.