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| Home Front: WoT |
| Zazi arrest: more teams out there |
| 2009-09-22 |
| After overnight arrests this weekend in the alleged New York terror plot, FBI agents believe an active terror cell directed by al Qaeda was preparing an attack on New York City, and authorities say they have yet to identify everyone involved. Officials tell ABC News they know of three distinct teams of four men each, but there may be others linked to the plot that remain unidentified. Law enforcement agents say they're watching a number of people on round-the-clock surveillance who they suspect might have been part of the alleged terror cell. The FBI is searching for a possible bomb storage garage. Zazi is set to have a preliminary and detention hearing Thursday morning and will remain in custody at least until then. The government is not seeking to keep his father, who was appointed a federal public defender, in custody, but his travel will be restricted to Colorado and he'll wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. He will have to remain in custody for two days until the monitoring system is set up. Zazi, who authorities say appears to be the ringleader of the alleged plot, has been tracked by the FBI and the CIA for more than a year, during which time he has traveled twice to Pakistan for explosives training from al Qaeda. In a criminal complaint, the FBI alleges they found nine handwritten pages on the manufacture and handling of explosives, detonators and the fuzing system in Zazi's possession. Court records show Zazi ran up more than $50,000 in debt on 20 credit cards, leading to concerns he was preparing for a suicide mission. He declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Mar. 2009, and while he told investigators he had been traveling to Pakistan see his wife, he checked the "not married" box on his application form. And from the New York Daily News: The source added that court papers released yesterday reveal only a "sliver" of the conspiracy. "The FBI is investigating several individuals in the U.S., Pakistan and elsewhere, relating to a plot to detonate improvised explosive devices in the U.S.," the Justice Department said. The FBI found an electronic "black scale" and batteries in the flat with Zazi's fingerprints. Scales can be used to measure chemicals for hydrogen peroxide-based explosives, which the feds suspect was the purpose. Zazi, a Pashtun, used an e-mail address to send the images to himself under the alias "Kado Khan" - an 18th-century Afghan executed for plotting to kill a Pashtun tribal king. Police sources said probers still have up to eight suspects in New York and several in Denver under watch. The FBI and NYPD grew alarmed that Zazi and his pals might be planning an imminent attack when they found backpacks and cell phones in an apartment. They also learned Afzali and other Zazi associates tried to rent a 26-foot U-Haul truck the day before Zazi got to Queens. The feds still don't know whether the chosen weapon was a truck bomb or backpack bombs. |
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| #2 He was scheduled to take the test in one month, JohnQC. His father already is a citizen. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-09-22 22:10 |
| #1 they know of three distinct teams of four men each, but there may be others linked to the plot that remain unidentified. I wonder how they got here and whether or not they were citizens. I understand Zazi was not a citizen but was to come up for citizenship soon. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-09-22 16:47 |