Posted on 03/25/2003 7:29:00 PM PST by STARWISE
Terror Suspect Sought In Tampa
By KEITH MORELLI kmorelli@tampatrib.com
Published: Mar 25, 2003
TAMPA - On the eve of President Bush's visit to MacDill Air Force Base, police are searching for a man suspected of being an al-Qaida terrorist who was spotted at a South Tampa sandwich shop.
The FBI last week issued a worldwide alert for Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, 27, a Saudi whose name surfaced after the capture in Pakistan of al-Qaida organizer Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. El Shukrijumah had lived in south Florida at the same time as Jose Padilla, a suspect in an alleged ``dirty bomb`` plot.
Tampa police spokeswoman Katie Hughes said police set up a perimeter in the area of South Dale Mabry Highway and Sevilla Street after a clerk and a customer in a Subway sandwich shop identified the man they saw as El Shukrijumah.
She said that around 5 p.m. a customer and clerk were inside the Subway at 3402 S. Dale Mabry Highway when a man who matched El Shukrijumah's description walked in and ordered a sandwich.
After the man left in a red, newer model Pontiac Grand Am, heading east on Sevilla Street, Tampa police Capt. Bob Guidara walked through the door and was told of the sighting.
With the city in a heightened sense of alert because of the president's visit Wednesday, police are swarming over south Tampa, looking for the Grand Am, Hughes said. Police are urging the man, if he is is a victim of mistaken identity, to contact them to clear up the matter.
Bush is scheduled to visit troops and families of servicemen and women at MacDill Wednesday morning under tight security. The base - home to U.S. Central Command, which is running the war in Iraq - is located at the south end of Dale Mabry Highway, just a few miles from where the suspected terrorist was reportedly spotted.
A poster showing the many faces of Adnan El Shukrijumah./ AP photo
El Shukrijumah was last seen in Broward County, FBI officials said last week.
FBI spokeswoman Sara Oates said Tuesday the Tampa regional office has received numerous calls from people who say they have seen El Shukrijumah, from Tampa to Orlando, and that agents are checking every call.
``We don't have him yet,'' she said.
She would only say agents are following up on all tips and calls.
``Every time we get information,'' she said, ``we corroborate the information.''
And the FBI is getting lots of calls from people, ``who are seeing him everywhere,'' she said.
These guys be-bop around the world. Given a choice, where would you expect them to go...Wisconsin?
PS: NO STARBUCKS!
It does seem to attract the terrorist, doesn't it?
The terrorists figured that this was THE state in the union with the lowest level of observation after seeing the election.
After all ... if they can't even count chads how are they going to catch terror 'masterminds'
And just WHAT is wrong with Wisconsin?? : )
Signed,
DOAIJV a/k/a Lombardi Brat
P.S. Seriously - this is one scary story.
If the president stays on MacDill, he will be perfectly safe. The Security Police aren't going to just let anyone on the base.
Lack of proper mosquitos! ;)
They all want RUSH'S autograph???
Looks like a Rental Car to me...
A Royal Jordanian Airways air marshal who disappeared from the Chicago area on Saturday has been located in Florida and may be seeking asylum in this country, the FBI's Chicago office said Monday.
Ali Alimora, 30, was being questioned at the FBI's Jacksonville, Fla., office, Chicago FBI spokesman Ross Rice said.
Rice said Alimora was not arrested and there was no suggestion that he had committed any crime or was affiliated with any terrorist organization.
Rice did say the air marshal did not have a visa that would permit him to remain in the United States.
Alimora and three other air marshals arrived in Chicago on Thursday aboard a Royal Jordanian Airways flight.
They were scheduled to fly to Jordan aboard a flight leaving O'Hare International Airport on Saturday night. But Alimora phoned airline security officials before the flight and said he intended to stay in the United States. The airline notified the FBI.
Rice said federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents involved in an unrelated narcotics investigation spotted Alimora aboard a Florida-bound train on Monday, based on a description circulated by the FBI.
DEA agents notified the FBI which met Alimora when he arrived in Jacksonville, Rice said. He said that the air marshal "may be seeking asylum," based on an initial conversation Alimora had with agents.
If Alimora maintains a request for asylum within the United States, he could be turned over to the Immigration Customs Enforcement Bureau which investigates such cases, Rice said.
He said he did not yet know why Alimora might be seeking asylum.
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