U.S. probe: suspect sent anthrax e-mail warning

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army scientist, just a few days before the 2001 anthrax attacks, sent an e-mail warning that Osama "bin Laden terrorists" had anthrax and sarin gas and included language similar to that in the anthrax letters, according to court documents unsealed on Wednesday.

The court documents also said the scientist, Dr. Bruce Ivins, had a large flask of highly purified anthrax spores that were found to be identical to the anthrax used in the attacks.

(Reporting by James Vicini, Editing by Randall Mikkelsen)