FBI raid Queens, NY home in terror investigation

http://twitter.com/breakingnews ^

[Cindy]

ADDING to post no. 463...more details:

Thanks to Velveeta at The Threat Matrix on FreeRepublic.com for the ping to this article:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,554220,00.html

“24 People Reportedly Under Observation in NYC-Colorado Terror Probe”
Wednesday, September 23, 2009

SNIPPET: “NEW YORK — As many as 24 people may be under observation in a suspected cross-country terror plot, as police in New York City stepped up patrols and increased random searches on mass transit Wednesday.”

SNIPPET: “The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security bulletins warned law enforcement officials around the country to watch mass transit, stadiums, warehouses with rentable storage units and hotels for any unusual activity. No new search warrants have been filed in recent days, the FBI told FOX.”

[Uncle Ike]

bttt ‘til morning

[Moe Tzadik]

True.

“The investigation into alleged bomb plot targeting New York has expanded to include nearly all of the FBI’s 57 field offices in the country and some overseas, CBS News has learned.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/23/national/main5331531.shtml

[Cindy]

A bit off thread topic, but interesting.

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/sept09/cbrnsu_092209.html

“EXTREME FORENSICS
Analyzing Hazardous Materials”
09/22/09

SNIPPET: “The FBI experts behind this fast response came from our Laboratory’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Sciences Unit, or CBRNSU for short. They coordinated the transfer of the samples to two government labs that specialize in animals and are equipped to deal with hazardous materials.

CBRNSU was created in 2002 on the heels of the anthrax attacks the previous fall. (And the Amerithrax case has been one of its biggest investigations.) The unit’s mission? To develop and maintain the FBI’s ability to conduct or direct high-quality forensic exams of potentially hazardous chemical, biological, and radiological/nuclear materials and all related evidence.

“The threat facing the U.S. today is three-pronged,” explains Supervisory Special Agent Margaret Eason, chief of the unit. “Chemical agents, including traditional chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals…biological agents capable of causing infectious diseases and special agriculture threats…and radiological materials or nuclear yield devices, including materials that could be used in a radioactive dispersal device or in an improvised nuclear device.”

“The unit’s strategy to combat these threats is also three-pronged,” adds Eason.”

[Cindy]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/09/24/2009-09-24_queens_imam_spent_time_in_jail_for_sex_abuse.html

“Queens imam tied to alleged Al Qaeda plot targeting NY spent time in jail for sexual abuse rap”
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA AND CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Thursday, September 24th 2009, 4:00 AM

SNIPPET: “Zazi, 25, who the feds say has admitted getting “weapons and explosives” training at an Al Qaeda camp in Pakistan, was arrested last weekend along with his father, Mohammed, 53.

Meanwhile, counterterrorism agents searching for explosives expanded their search to Staten Island, where they combed through a ministorage facility looking for chemical agents.

Investigators also have grilled more than a dozen friends and acquaintances of Zazi, an Afghan immigrant who spent several days in New York around Sept. 11 before returning home to Colorado.

In another development, the NYPD transferred a top counterterrorism official after his unit botched a federal investigation into the suspected Queens terrorists, The New York Times reported.”

[Cindy]

SNIPPET from post no. 485:

"Meanwhile, counterterrorism agents searching for explosives expanded their search to Staten Island, where they combed through a ministorage facility looking for chemical agents."

[Uncle Ike]

Good morning...

Pretty slow news-day yesterday, as far as this situation is concerned — not much was reported that advanced the story...

The ‘major development’ was the putative ‘feud’ between FBI and NYPD, and I’m beginning to wonder if that’s not being put forward as some kind of distraction - a shiny bauble for the Media to chase...

Which begs the question - distraction from what? To what purpose?

[Cindy]

It’s not a distraction Uncle Ike...just too many cooks in the kitchen.

[Uncle Ike]

Just heard on FNC —

Zazi (the younger) due in back in court in Denver today, possibly to be transferred to Fed custody in NYC....

[angcat]

Terror scare in BronxBy ERIN CALABRESE and KATI CORNELL Last Updated: 4:50 AM, September 24, 2009 Posted: 3:37 AM, September 24, 2009 A Bronx block was abruptly shut down last night after bomb-sniffing dogs set off a terror search at a warehouse.

A tip led investigators looking into a possible terror cell in the city to American Self Storage on River Avenue in High Bridge. Police dogs indicated they'd found something suspicious.

FBI evidence teams hauled out three boxes at around 10:15 p.m. The contents were not immediately known.

Meanwhile, a member of the NYPD's intelligence division could be called to testify on why he trusted a Queens imam with the details of the probe into a suspected al Qaeda cell.

Ahmad Afzali, an imam and police snitch, is due in Brooklyn federal court today on charges he told alleged bomb plotter Najibullah Zazi the feds were watching him -- then lied about it to the FBI. Afzali's lawyer says his NYPD handler can prove he's no double agent.

print email share buzz digg reddit fark it facebook rss A Bronx block was abruptly shut down last night after bomb-sniffing dogs set off a terror search at a warehouse. A tip led investigators looking into a possible terror cell in the city to American Self Storage on River Avenue in High Bridge. Police dogs indicated they'd found something suspicious. FBI evidence teams hauled out three boxes at around 10:15 p.m. The contents were not immediately known. Meanwhile, a member of the NYPD's intelligence division could be called to testify on why he trusted a Queens imam with the details of the probe into a suspected al Qaeda cell. Ahmad Afzali, an imam and police snitch, is due in Brooklyn federal court today on charges he told alleged bomb plotter Najibullah Zazi the feds were watching him -- then lied about it to the FBI. Afzali's lawyer says his NYPD handler can prove he's no double agent. Do you know someone who has made New York a better place? Nominate your hero for the 8th Annual New York Post Liberty Medals.

[Uncle Ike]

Thanks, angcat...

Good find... ;)

[Uncle Ike]

This is how desperate I’ve gotten for ‘news’... ;)

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/09/24/2009-09-24_queens_imam_spent_time_in_jail_for_sex_abuse.html

Queens imam tied to alleged Al Qaeda plot targeting NY spent time in jail for sexual abuse rap
BY Rocco Parascandola and Corky Siemaszko
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

The Queens imam implicated in a plot to bomb New York insists he’s no Al Qaeda terrorist, but court records reveal he’s got roaming hands.

Ahmad Afzali was busted on June 24, 1992 - when he was 20 - for grabbing a woman’s buttocks, the records show.

Now 37, Afzali was indicted for sex abuse but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge - attempted sex abuse - and served six months in jail, with five years’ probation.

(snip)

[tidbit from very deep in the article]

In another development, the NYPD transferred a top counterterrorism official after his unit botched a federal investigation into the suspected Queens terrorists, The New York Times reported.

The Intelligence Division official sought assistance from Afzali, who then alerted Zazi in Colorado, the newspaper said. He was replaced by another top official in the counterterrorism bureau

(snip)

[Uncle Ike]

ALERT

(Fox News Alert)

NY Grand Jury has indicted Zazi on the charge of ‘attemting to use weapons of mass destruction’..

I’m repeating this for emphasis — WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!

Waiting for details

ALERT

[Uncle Ike]

Correction — ‘conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction’...

[HollyB]

Ping to 493

Thanks!

[angcat]

WHAT KIND? OMG

[milford421]

Thank you Uncle Ike.

[milford421]

Thanks angcat...hadn’t seen this.

[444Flyer]

Thanks!

Ping to 493.

[milford421]

http://wcbstv.com/breakingnewsalerts/najibullah.zazi.indicted.2.1205295.html

Link to the indictment on the cbs site.