BloodEclipse
Grandmaster
Sep 15, 2009 8:44 pm US/Eastern
In Wake Of 'Preventative' Terror Raid On NYC Apartments; Police Advised To Search For Specific Indicators
Reporting
John Slattery
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Click to enlarge 1 of 1
CBS
terrorism officials on Tuesday urged local police to be on the lookout for evidence of homemade bombs, a day after the FBI raided four apartments in Queens looking for bomb-making components.
Police departments are being urged to be on the lookout for specific indicators of terrorist activity.
"I believe it's prudent to put that information out. We welcome it," said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.
The directive speaks of the possible use of hydrogen peroxide in bombs, and to look for people who may have burns on the face, hands and arms.
Officials Monday were apparently looking for an Afghan national from Colorado who may have links to al-Qaida. Sources said he stayed at the home of an acquaintance on a recent trip to New York.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press Tuesday that the FBI had put Najibullah Zazi under surveillance in connection with a suspected plot to make homemade bombs. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly and insisted on anonymity.
Zazi told The Associated Press in a Denver suburb that he had recently visited New York and knows he's under investigation. But he said he's innocent.
A White House spokesman said President Barack Obama, who spoke on Wall Street on Monday, had been briefed on the investigation.
"This is an ongoing investigation that is being treated very, very seriously by the highest levels of the government," Rep. Peter King said.
King was one of several senior lawmakers in Washington D.C. present for a classified briefing with the FBI on Monday night, following the early morning raid on the apartments in Flushing.
"It's not usual to move for a warrant that quickly unless you see a very real potential danger," King said.
Investigators issued warrants to search the residences for explosives material but did not find any, according to a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity.
Sen. Charles Schumer said the law enforcement action was unrelated to President Obama's visit to the city Monday.
"There was nothing imminent, and they are very good now at tracking potentially dangerous actions, and this was preventive," said Schumer, D-N.Y.
Two U.S. intelligence officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly, said the target of any purported attack -- or who would carry it out -- remained unclear.
Some sources said no explosives were found. Commissioner Kelly, however, said: "Material was obtained as a result of the execution of those warrants and is now being analyzed, and the case is obviously ongoing."
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne confirmed that searches were conducted in the borough of Queens by agents of a joint terrorism task force.
Community leaders said the neighborhood was rattled and hoped to ease concerns.
"There has been no terrorist incident in Flushing. This is just a federal investigation and we're asking people to be calm," said John Choe of the Mitchell-Linden Civic Association.
Residents in the Flushing neighborhood on Monday described officers armed with search warrants swarming their immigrant neighborhood at about 2:30 a.m.
Akbari Amanullah, a cab driver who lived in an apartment with four other natives of Afghanistan, said when he arrived home from work afterward, he was told that one of his roommates had been taken away.
The person familiar with the case said the raids were the result of previous law enforcement surveillance of people.
One man at a three-story brick apartment building in the neighborhood confirmed Monday that authorities had been at his apartment, but he wouldn't identify himself or comment further. Nearby resident Kabir Islam said he saw FBI agents and police officers surrounding the apartment when he arrived home after 3 a.m.
Amanullah said about a dozen FBI agents went to his nearby fifth-floor apartment at about 2:30 a.m.
In Wake Of 'Preventative' Terror Raid On NYC Apartments; Police Advised To Search For Specific Indicators
John Slattery
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
CBS
terrorism officials on Tuesday urged local police to be on the lookout for evidence of homemade bombs, a day after the FBI raided four apartments in Queens looking for bomb-making components.
Police departments are being urged to be on the lookout for specific indicators of terrorist activity.
"I believe it's prudent to put that information out. We welcome it," said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.
The directive speaks of the possible use of hydrogen peroxide in bombs, and to look for people who may have burns on the face, hands and arms.
Officials Monday were apparently looking for an Afghan national from Colorado who may have links to al-Qaida. Sources said he stayed at the home of an acquaintance on a recent trip to New York.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press Tuesday that the FBI had put Najibullah Zazi under surveillance in connection with a suspected plot to make homemade bombs. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly and insisted on anonymity.
Zazi told The Associated Press in a Denver suburb that he had recently visited New York and knows he's under investigation. But he said he's innocent.
A White House spokesman said President Barack Obama, who spoke on Wall Street on Monday, had been briefed on the investigation.
"This is an ongoing investigation that is being treated very, very seriously by the highest levels of the government," Rep. Peter King said.
King was one of several senior lawmakers in Washington D.C. present for a classified briefing with the FBI on Monday night, following the early morning raid on the apartments in Flushing.
"It's not usual to move for a warrant that quickly unless you see a very real potential danger," King said.
Investigators issued warrants to search the residences for explosives material but did not find any, according to a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity.
Sen. Charles Schumer said the law enforcement action was unrelated to President Obama's visit to the city Monday.
"There was nothing imminent, and they are very good now at tracking potentially dangerous actions, and this was preventive," said Schumer, D-N.Y.
Two U.S. intelligence officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly, said the target of any purported attack -- or who would carry it out -- remained unclear.
Some sources said no explosives were found. Commissioner Kelly, however, said: "Material was obtained as a result of the execution of those warrants and is now being analyzed, and the case is obviously ongoing."
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne confirmed that searches were conducted in the borough of Queens by agents of a joint terrorism task force.
Community leaders said the neighborhood was rattled and hoped to ease concerns.
"There has been no terrorist incident in Flushing. This is just a federal investigation and we're asking people to be calm," said John Choe of the Mitchell-Linden Civic Association.
Residents in the Flushing neighborhood on Monday described officers armed with search warrants swarming their immigrant neighborhood at about 2:30 a.m.
Akbari Amanullah, a cab driver who lived in an apartment with four other natives of Afghanistan, said when he arrived home from work afterward, he was told that one of his roommates had been taken away.
The person familiar with the case said the raids were the result of previous law enforcement surveillance of people.
One man at a three-story brick apartment building in the neighborhood confirmed Monday that authorities had been at his apartment, but he wouldn't identify himself or comment further. Nearby resident Kabir Islam said he saw FBI agents and police officers surrounding the apartment when he arrived home after 3 a.m.
Amanullah said about a dozen FBI agents went to his nearby fifth-floor apartment at about 2:30 a.m.
