to say there is any link to terrorism," Kolko said.
Posted on 08/06/2007 11:27:50 AM PDT by Lexington Green
TAMPA -- The two men detained in South Carolina over the weekend after police said they found a suspicious item in their car are University of South Florida students, officials said.
At a 1:30 p.m. news conference today, USF Spokesman Ken Gullette said Yousef Megahed is an undergraduate student and Ahmed Mohamed is a civil engineering graduate student.
Mohamed is originally from Kuwait and completed his undergrad education in Cairo. He has been at USF since January and was registered for six hours during summer session, Gullette said.
Megahed, originally from Egpyt, has been enrolled at USF since 2004 and had not declared a major. He was registered for three hours this fall, Gullette said.
Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Tampa, said that Megahed is a permanent legal resident studying engineering at USF whose family has lived in the Tampa area for years. "This is his home," Bedier said.
Mohamed, who is from Egypt, is at USF on an exchange program, Bedier said.
Megahed's family members only heard news of his arrest while watching CNN, Bedier said. "They never received a phone call," he said.
A representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations accompanied family members to South Carolina late Sunday, Bedier said.
Bedier said he has seen reports coming out of South Carolina that the men merely had fireworks in their car. "We need to know what the facts are," he said.
In South Carolina, Berkeley County sheriff's Lt. Vince Lombard said authorities stopped the men for speeding, then found the suspicious item. Police detonated the item. Lombard would not say what the device was or what bomb technicians from neighboring Charleston County exploded about 2:45 a.m. Sunday. The item made a loud bang, similar to a firecracker, when it was demolished.
The men were being held Sunday pending a charge of unlawful possession of an explosive device, according to officials in South Carolina.
No charges had been filed as of Sunday afternoon, Berkeley County Chief Deputy Butch Henerey told The Post and Courier of Charleston for a story posted on its Web site Sunday.
A terrorism task force is reviewing evidence, said FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.
"At this point, it is too early in the investigation to say there is any link to terrorism," Kolko said.
He referred questions about the suspects, whom he did not identify, to local authorities. The sheriff's office would not comment to The Associated Press but planned a news conference Monday morning.
Authorities closed a mile-long stretch of U.S. Highway 176 at about 7 p.m. Saturday, and federal officials said there was "no immediate threat." It reopened at about 4 a.m. Sunday.
Goose Creek is home to the Naval Weapons Station, which houses the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants have been held.
The car was heading west, away from Goose Creek, when it was pulled over about 7 miles from the sprawling Navy facility, Lombard said.
Goose Creek, with a population of about 30,000, is about 20 miles north of Charleston.
Valerie Kalfrin of The Tampa Tribune and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
They have since arrested and charged them. See: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877062/posts
Somehow these two do not strike me as the types to celebrate the 4th of July. And keep them in their car all this time?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877198/posts
They’re charged with possession of an incendiary device...probably homemade from the info in the linked article.
Civil engineer? It’s the mechanical engineers who build bombs. Civil engineers build “targets”.
If I were going to or from North Carolina for the weekend and found myself on U.S. 176 I would consider myself lost. Not exactly the most direct route to anywhere in N.C.
True, but they also know the weak points.
If I wanted to destroy civil infrastructure with relatively small explosive charges, I'd want a civil engineer working with me to point out the most advantageous locations to place charges.
BTW Al-Arian’s daughter, Laila Al-Arian, is a writer with The Nation and was co-author of the Nation’s most recent slam against our soldiers.
Explosives Found Near Goose Creek SC; FBI on Scene
Posted by Milwaukee_Guy
On News/Activism 08/04/2007 7:47:14 PM PDT · 177 replies · 6,078+ views
ABC News 4 ^ | Saturday August 4, 2007 | Milwaukee_Guy
Details on Materials Found in Trunk Unclear
Posted by TornadoAlley3
On News/Activism 08/05/2007 5:22:56 PM PDT · 147 replies · 2,658+ views
abcnews.com ^ | 08/05/07 | Shantel Middleton
He apparently majored in jihad.
“Those aren’t explosives, those are my principles...”
I was mistaken- they had smoke powder in plastic pipes.
South Florida Students Face Indictment for Carrying Explosives Across State Lines [Indicted]
Posted by STARWISE
On News/Activism 08/31/2007 10:31:06 AM PDT · 15 replies · 257+ views
FNC/AP ^ | 8-31-07
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