Posted on 11/29/2001 9:22:23 PM PST by OKCSubmariner
An investigation into an Oklahoma City home invasion robbery has led to the arrest of two admitted Iraqi street gang members, authorities said Thursday.
Members of a state anti- terrorism task force raided a south Oklahoma City motel room early Thursday and arrested two men, police Inspector Jerry Flowers said. Flowers is a member of the joint terrorism task force consisting of a number of state law agencies.
Shortly after midnight Thursday, officers went to the Travelodge, 820 S MacArthur Blvd., and surrounded room 147. Two men, Ihsan Sala Jabbar, 28, and El Alami "Al" El Mansouri, 30, were arrested.
Both men were wanted in the home invasion reported at 2109 NW 32 about 9 p.m. Nov. 22.
Police previously arrested two other men - Jermaine Birdow, 25, and Johnnie Johnson, 29 - in the same home invasion.
All four have been charged with larceny of an automobile, armed robbery, first-degree burglary, feloniously pointing a firearm, assault and battery, kidnapping for the purpose of extortion, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Several men burst into a home waving guns and wearing ski masks, authorities said. The men demanded money from a safe and then beat one person in the head with a weapon. Another held a gun to the head of a 6-year-old boy, officials said.
While the robbers were using duct tape to bind others in the house, the boy hid under the sink with a cell phone and called police, according to court documents. When officers arrived, the men fled.
The men arrested Thursday admitted to being members of the Oklahoma City street gang called, "Iraqi Mobster Mafia," Flowers said. About 10 members have been identified in south Oklahoma City, he said.
Flowers said an investigation into the street gang, which also includes members of other local ethnic groups, started when Oklahoma City gang unit officers noticed graffiti on a stockade fence in south Oklahoma City in a style that resembled Arabic writing.
The writing said, "Middle Eastern Iraqi Mafia," Flowers said.
FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson said investigators have uncovered no links between the gang and other terrorist activities.
"We've not found them to be connected to any terrorist groups," Johnson said.
Flowers said the gang has been involved in auto thefts, home invasion robberies and burglaries.
Jabbar and Mansouri were held in the Oklahoma County jail Thursday without bail. Mansouri is a native of Morocco and Jabbar is from Iraq, officials said.
The anti-terrorism task force was established before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Flowers said.
Authorities identified the task force as made up of officers with the Oklahoma City police, FBI, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshal's office, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
BlueDog's reference to Dr. Samir Khalil is to a Jordanian who employed an Iraqi suspect of the OKC bombing, Al Hussain Hussaini, a former member of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Khalil was also suspected of having connections to the ME terror group Hamas and running front companies for them in OKC.
BlueDog comment #1:
A total of four suspects have been arrested in the alleged break-in at Samir Khalil's home on 32nd--the two Arabs, whose pictures were shown on Channel Five, Jabbar and Mansouri, were both with our group from 1995, and former employees', of Dr Khalil. Both have had holds for Immigration placed on them, and should be talking with the boys from Ft. Smith soon---chalk this up to great work by some good friends from Special Projects/OKCPD---street cops, taking matters into their own hands, and by-passing the Feds---these maggots will be taken down, one way or the other---Jabbar was a roommate of AlHussain, and lived in a home owned by Samara Properties---Birds of a feather, stick together--
It is amazing, what pictures will do in the right hands, the garage at 32nd and North Penn, leased from Khalil and the Vietnamese, was found to contain two stolen cars, ID'ed, from the photo's, and another one bits the dust--this one the tall skinny one. I bet all that police tape around the garage and parking lot, made the other twenty, wonder if their world was coming to an end---Damn, right it is!!!!!!!!!!
BlueDog comment #2:
Oklahoma has already had the similar front companies with Samara Properties, and Dr. Khalil---so Florida is not an unusual case.
For those Sooners, in OKC, tonight on all channels, except four, Det. Jerry Flowers, the head of the Oklahoma Task Force on Terrorism, called the two Iraq;s, Jabbar, and Mansouire, part of a group he tagged, "The Iraq Mafia"--well folks, those are our boys from 1995, he is talking about--it has taken the greatest group of street cops in the world,the Oklahoma City Police Department Special Projects Unit---to finish something that should have been done in 1995---the arrest and conviction of a group of murderers, that was allowed to live in our fair city.
Bravo, Bravo, now let's finish the job the Feds [FBI] did not have the guts to do?
It will happen, with or without Ashcroft and his bunch of wingtip warriors [FBI & US prosecutors]!
Can you say dead man and then take your chances on jury trial?
Hmmmm - they're comfortable working with "Western infidels"...
All Americans should be demanding that their government get active and go after the 3,000 to 4,000 "former" members of the Iraqi Republican Guard (per Washington Times report) brought into this country to live in the OKC area after the Gulf War be DEPORTED IMMEDIATELY!
Thank God for The Brave OKC Special Units! We all need to take their example, because if we leave it up to the Government, all we will get is more phony cover stories and more situations that get out of hand and lead to OKC Bombings and WTC attacks going unchalleneged.
Stay Safe "P"!
While the robbers were using duct tape to bind others in the house, the boy hid under the sink with a cell phone and called police, according to court documents.
GOOD JOB!
The first WTC bombing was in 1993
The second attacks on the WTC were on 9/11/2001.
Iraqis once employed by Khalil broke into his house. One of the Iraqis involved in the breakin was a roomate of the main Iraqi suspect in the OKC bombing, Al Hussain Hussaini. Hussaini was also employed by Khalil at the time of the OKC bombing. Khalil was tied to Hamas and the Iraqis(employed at least two of them) but I guess they turned on him (unless it was staged?).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.