Free Republic

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A 29-year-old man has been arrested on charges that he allegedly planned to bomb a federal courthouse in Illinois and kill employees there. Federal officials say the case has no connections with the major terrorism investigation under way in Colorado and New York.

Stadiums, Hotels Put On Alert Amid Terror Probe Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009 in New York. Associated Press Writers Tom Hays And Devlin BarrettNEW YORK – The government expanded a terrorism warning from transit systems to U.S. stadiums, hotels and entertainment complexes as investigators searched for more suspects Tuesday in a possible al-Qaida plot to set off hydrogen-peroxide bombs hidden in backpacks. Police bolstered their presence at high-profile locations. Extra officers with bulletproof vests, rifles and dogs were assigned to spots such as Grand Central Terminal in New York. Plainclothes officers handed out fliers at a nearby hotel with a warning...

DENVER — A man identified by law enforcement as having a possible link to al-Qaida met with his attorney Thursday before a second round of questioning by federal agents. Najibullah Zazi planned to meet with FBI agents later in the day, said the attorney, Arthur Folsom. Agents questioned Zazi for hours on Wednesday. They also searched Zazi's apartment and the home of his aunt and uncle, both in the east Denver suburb of Aurora. Folsom said Zazi has never met with al-Qaida operatives and isn't involved in terrorism... Folsom said he believes the FBI would have arrested Zazi if agents...

SNIPPET - Quote: Pak raids unravel Taliban-drugs link ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities arrested 13 Islamist militants in separate raids that police said on Monday foiled major terrorist attacks and provided clues to how drug sales help fund the Taliban.

TALIBAN warlords are showing off their latest execution method - BLOWING UP their enemies - in a bid to scare Western sympathisers. This horrific film, circulating online, shows a terrified "spy" being strapped to explosives - and the gruesome aftermath. It is thought to have been filmed near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The al-Qaeda-linked video is aimed at discouraging locals from co-operating with the UK or US. A security source said: "This is a reminder of why British and US troops are in Afghanistan." (photos at link)

Hat Tip: Special Freepmailer Note: Video included. SAN MATEO, Calif. (KCBS) -- The teenager accused of bringing a sword and a chainsaw, along with 10 pipe bombs to his former high school is being charged with the crime as an adult. San Mateo County Assistant District Attorney Karen Guidotti tells KCBS that 17-year-old Alex Youshock was charged Wednesday. Authorities believe he detonated two pipe bombs at the school on Monday while armed with a chain saw, a sword, and explosives. No one was hurt in incident. Guidotti says Youshock is being charged as adult because authorities believe the attack was...

SNIPPET: "Maddy Vitale, spokeswoman for the Atlantic County prosecutor's office, said state police bomb squad members removed a package from the car shortly before 7 p.m. and were taking it to an undisclosed location to detonate it."

Note: Video included. SNIPPET: "WALLA WALLA--Hundreds of pounds of explosives were stolen from the Port of Walla Walla." SNIPPET: "It’s enough explosives to do serious damage." SNIPPET: "No one knows the intent; the goods were locked up at a storage unit somewhere at the Port of Walla Walla." SNIPPET: "“They took a lot of time to do what they were doing, it was secure,” Jessie Summers said." SNIPPET: "Investigators call this a "significant safety threat."" SNIPPET: "There is a reward if you know anything about this crime. Call 1888-ATF-BOMB if you can help."

Italian newspaper says plane crash north of Tehran which left 168 people dead was caused by explosion of fuses slated to be delivered to Lebanese organization. According to report, members of Revolutionary Guards among casualties 08.02.09 / Israel News An Iranian plane crash two weeks ago – which left 168 people dead – was caused by the explosion of sophisticated fuses slated to be delivered to Hezbollah, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Saturday, quoting sources in the Middle East. According to the report, the pilot of the Tupolev plane, which was making its way from Tehran to Armenia, sent...

No web source I've found yet - just announced as breaking news on Ten TV - an unexploded device has been found on the New England Highway in New South Wales. Bomb squad responding.

BERKELEY -- A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing explosive materials at a home in the Berkeley hills, police said today. Emoru Oboke Obbanya, 27 was arrested .. by officers investigating a 911 hang-up call at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. Obbanya refused to open the door at first, then came outside and immediately closed the door, police Lt. Andrew Greenwood said. He appeared nervous, cursed the officers and refused to provide evidence that he lived there, police said. Officers decided to search the home to make sure no one inside needed help, Greenwood said. They obtained...

Jakarta, Indonesia (AP) - Explosive material recovered from the scene of two suicide bombings at hotels in the Indonesian capital is "identical" to that used by the Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah in earlier attacks, police said. An unexploded bomb left in a room of the J.W. Marriott in Jakarta resembled devices used in attacks on Bali and one found in a recent raid against the network on an Islamic boarding school in Central Java, national police spokesman told a news conference Sunday.

Police arrested a man early Saturday who had a bomb in a backpack that he may have been preparing to use at a school in the area, officials said. The man, identified as Jason A. Babson, 29, of 13 School St., Hudson Falls, was found with an explosive device just before 3 a.m. Saturday, said Hudson Falls Police Chief Randy Diamond. The FBI was notified of the incident and is conducting its own investigation into the matter. Hudson Falls Police Detective Scott Gillis said residents of the area where Babson was walking believed he made a comment about using a...

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2009 – Afghan and coalition security forces seized weapons and drugs and captured seven suspected militants during two operations in southern Afghanistan yesterday. Afghan forces, advised and assisted by coalition forces, uncovered a significant drug and weapons cache during operations in Oruzgan province’s Shahidi Hasas district. A search yielded 200 pounds of black-tar heroin, 100 50-pound bags of ammonium nitrate, homemade explosives, numerous bomb-making materials, three machine guns and small arms, along with Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army uniforms. A number of women and children were discovered in the area and escorted to safety. No...

SNIPPET: "SANTA CRUZ, Calif - Homes on 25th Avenue in Santa Cruz were asked to evacuate for a second time on Wednesday night after police found more hazardous materials in a nearby home that made them nervous. Homes within a 300 diameter of 215 25th Avenue had to evacuate, however it was not mandatory. All residents were able to return to their homes by 8 p.m. on Wednesday night." SNIPPET: "This all started on Tuesday when the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office received a call from the County Environmental Health Agency. They received a tip from a local freight agency...

The Italian police have arrested two men suspected of planning an attack on the Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris. They are also suspected of planning other attacks in France and Great Britain. The two are thought to play a leading role in the al-Qaeda network.

Two Muslim converts and two Turks go on trial in a bomb-proof courtroom in Düsseldorf today accused of plotting to blow up German civilians and US soldiers. “The world will burn!” boasted an intercepted e-mail sent between the accused, who are alleged to have wanted to wage an Islamic holy war in the heart of Europe. Three of the men — Fritz Gelowicz, 29, Daniel Schneider, 23 and the Turkish national Adem Yilmaz, 30 — are accused of attending a training camp on the Afghan-Pakistani frontier run by an Uzbek-based terror organisation known as the Islamic Jihad Union. Intelligence services...

FBI FIELD INTELLIGENCE GROUPS Page 11 9 December 2008 Discovery of Radiological Dispersal Device Components, Literature, and Radioactive Material at the Maine Residence of an Identified Deceased US Person On 9 December 2008, radiological dispersal device components and literature, and radioactive materials, were discovered at the Maine residence of an identified deceased USPER James Cummings. Cummings had possible ties to white supremacist groups. On 9 December 2008, four one-gallon containers of 35 percent hydrogen peroxide, lithium metal, thermite, aluminum powder, beryllium, boron, black iron oxide, and magnesium ribbon were discovered at the Cummings’ residence. (FBI comments: Literature on constructing ‘dirty...

Police: Man Found With IED Arrested; Home Searched Hazardous Materials Team Removes Chemicals From Pittsburgh Home PITTSBURGH -- SNIPPET: "When police searched the man's Parkview Street home in the city's Oakland neighborhood, they said officers found chemicals for making explosives devices. Police described the chemicals as extremely dangerous."

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A chemical used in explosives, fireworks and rocket fuel has been found in powdered baby formula in the United States, the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) said. In "little-noticed findings," researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 15 brands of baby formula contained perchlorate, an oxidizer in solid fuels used in explosives, fireworks, road flares and rocket motors, the EWG said. "Studies have established that the chemical is a potent thyroid toxin that may interfere with fetal and infant brain development," it said. The EWG said the CDC study's findings raised...