Results tagged “terrorism”

Gov. David Paterson followed former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's lead yesterday, when he denounced plans to hold the trial for Kalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in New York.

Coming on the heels of yesterday's report on the questionable conditions and lack of legal access in a little known immigrant jail in the West Village, the federal government has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle the cases of five Muslim immigrants were among hundreds of noncitizens jailed in Brooklyn for months after 9/11 without charges. According to the Times, the plaintiffs — whose names were cleared but were still deported — accepted the payout after seven years of court cases. A larger suit filed by other detainees is ongoing.

As suspected terrorist Najibullah Zazi sits in federal custody, the feds announced another terrorism-related arrest: The Boston Globe reports that 27-year-old Tarek Mehanna of Sudbury, MA and co-conspirators "allegedly plotted terrorist assaults on shopping malls in which he and his fellow conspirators would use automatic weapons to mow down civilians, federal authorities said today as they announced his arrest...The conspirators were inspired to prepare for the shopping mall attacks by the Washington, D.C., sniper shootings of 2002 and viewed civilians as fair game because they were taxpayers and nonbelievers, [acting US Attorney Michael] Loucks said. The plot never materialized because the conspirators could not obtain automatic weapons."

You may know John Elway from such a hits as Super Bowl XXXII and Home Improvement episode "The Eve of Construction." But the retired Denver Broncos' quarterback has now found a new drive in fighting terrorism, as you'll see in this gonzo instructional video "Recognizing the 8 Signs of Terrorism," which was produced in partnership with the Colorado governor's Office of Homeland Security, and the FBI, thanks to a federal Homeland Security grant.

Najibullah Zazi pleaded not guilty to a single terrorism conspiracy charge in a Brooklyn federal courthouse yesterday. The 24-year-old former Queens/current Denver resident is accused of plotting to bomb NYC, after an investigation revealed he bought large quantities of beauty supplies that can be used in bombs and backpacks (meant to carry bombs) were seized in a Queens apartment.

If the terror charges filed yesterday against Najibullah Zazi are true, a fairly large number of his co-conspirators must still be at large. The impressive evidence presented yesterday against the 24-year-old Afghan immigrant indicates the cooperation of a number of other men: the man he consulted in cooking up the bombs in a Colorado hotel, the men who trained him and gave him notes on bomb design in Pakistan, and the men who housed him in NYC and planned to wear the backpacks that were seized in a Queens apartment.

The past few days have seen a flurry of police investigative activity in Queens, from Flushing to Woodhaven to St. Albans, to head off a possible plot to attack NYC targets. Now the first arrests have been made: CNN reports Najibullah Zazi, his father Muhammed Zazi, and their acquaintance Ahmad Wais Afzali were arrested last night in the terrorism investigation which has stretched from Denver to Pakistan to 41st Avenue in Flushing.

After raiding three homes in Flushing, Queens early Monday morning, the FBI is apparently set for more! The Daily News provides the tip-off: "Fearful of a Madrid-style subway train bombing, authorities are poised to make more raids to seize bomb-making materials at locations in Queens, sources said Wednesday... Another source said an earlier raid uncovered nine backpacks and cell phones, raising memories of the March 2004 bombings in Madrid."

Yesterday morning, a number of homes in Flushing, Queens were raided as part of an ongoing terror investigation. Senator Chuck Schumer said, "There was nothing imminent," and described the raids as "preventive," but now the Daily News says the FBI was worried the suspects may be involved in a Denver-based terror cell. A source said, "The FBI is seriously spooked about these guys planning another 9/11. This is not some ... FBI informant-driven case. This is the real thing."

The NYPD confirmed that it raided Queens homes as part of a terrorism investigation—and the NYPD and FBI are briefing Congress right now. Apparently they were tracking a terror suspect; Congressman Peter King (R-Long Island) said, "He was being watched and concern grew as he met with a group of individuals in Queens over the weekend. The FBI went to court late last night for an emergency warrant to conduct the raids this morning." WCBS 2 reports that residents "say it was a blitzkrieg at about 2 a.m. at an address on 41st Avenue near 144th Street. The door to apartment 530 cannot be closed because agents had to ram it open. One of the men who lives in the apartment, who says he was not a target of the search, says he's a self-employed antique dealer." The man said, "They looking for some powder, some different things for making bombs and different things," adding he didn't know the roommates. And the Post's sources say, "The suspected terrorist, described as an ethnic Afghani resident of the Midwest in his 20s — who may have previously lived in Queens — had driven to New York City in recent days and visited multiple apartments in Queens over the weekend."

The Scottish government released Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, back to his home in Libya. Two hundred forty-three people aboard the plane—189 of them Americans, many from NY and NJ—were killed while 11 people on the ground died when the NY-bound jet exploded on December 21, 1988. al-Megrahi, sentenced to life amid his claims of innocence, is suffering from terminal prostate cancer. Scottish Justice Kenny MacAskill Secretary said, "Mr al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion... But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days...Our justice system demands that judgement be imposed, but compassion be available." The U.S. condemned the decision; Senator John Kerrey said, "The news today from Glasgow turned the word ’compassion’ on its head." Perinton, NY resident Paul Halsch, whose 31-year-old wife was killed, let the Daily News know how he feels, "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was ... and that would be in a box."

As the NYC Office of Emergency Management mentioned yesterday, there will be a "marine law enforcement exercise" taking place today between 10 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. New Yorkers were told to "Expect additional marine vessel activity south of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York Harbor." And here are a few more details. It's part of the NYPD's "Securing the Cities" initiative and WCBS 2 adds, "The goal is protect the area from a potential "dirty bomb" or nuclear device. Participants on about 17 vessels will practice checking for radioactive material" (sort of like the highway terrorism drill held in Queens back in June).

After nearly simultaneous suicide bomb attacks rocked two American hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia earlier today, the NYPD has moved to beef up security at related hotels here in New York. Eight people were killed and at least 50 more wounded in the attacks at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels; investigators say several of the suspected bombers were guests at the Marriott, and undetonated explosives were found on the hotel's 18th floor. Though officials here say there's nothing to suggest that terrorists may target NYC hotels, they're taking precautions anyway. In a statement, police Commissioner Ray Kelly says, "it's our standard practice now to take such precautions and to brief security directors in New York of what we learn." NY1 reports that critical response vehicles and members of the counterterrorism bureau have been assigned to the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and dozens of other hotels. And a teleconference on hotel security is also being held in Downtown Manhattan today with a lieutenant on the scene. But will that be enough to keep hotel guests safe from another terrifying new threat: prank callers?

The FBI and NYPD have arrested four men who were allegedly plotting to bomb at least two Jewish temples and attack a National Guard base. According to NBC New York, "several of the suspects are Muslims who allegedly talked about destroying two Jewish temples, including at least one in the Riverdale section of the Bronx." The men apparently ordered and received bomb making materials, but "investigators said they made sure the materials the suspects received were inert." And WCBS 2 reports, the men also wanted to "shoot military planes located at the New York Air National Guard Base at Stewart Airport in Newburgh with Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles." The four men, all residents of Newburgh, were arrested in the Bronx this evening; apparently a friend tipped off the feds, who have been investigating them for a year.

Ray Kelly is telling Congress that the NYPD is looking for ways to interfere with cell phone service in the event of another terrorist attack. It's reported that while testifying before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security today, Kelly will say that disrupting communications as a defense against terror is one of the biggest lessons taken from the Mumbai attacks this past November. Those coordinating the attacks in Mumbai had kept in touch with each other throughout the course of the events. The Post says that it is uncertain whether Kelly means finding a way to infiltrate a network used by terrorists or has something in mind of a grander scale, such as shutting down service for a large area of Manhattan during an attack. Another change in policy carried out by Kelly since a three-member NYPD counterterrorism team that visited Mumbai three days after the attack in India is the decision last month to train rookie officers in how to use machine guns.

Mayor Bloomberg's brush with a Hamas rocket yesterday made headlines in today's papers—some of which may have exaggerated just how much danger the mayor was in (the Post's headline reads that a "rocket rocks his 'boom!' town visit.") Bloomberg himself told the press, “Let’s not overstate the risks to me" and emphasized, "I feel safe here."

As Israeli forces gained control of the eastern section of northern Gaza and pushed deeper into the territory, Mayor Bloomberg visited Israel and continued to emphasize his support for the continued strikes. He told the AP, "You should rest assured, if anyone in New York was being threatened, my instruction to the NYPD would be to use all the resources at their disposal to protect civilians."

If the debate over extending term limits didn't make the point clear enough, Mayor Bloomberg wants us as New Yorkers to look at ourselves in the mirror during this time of crisis and ask ourselves, "Can we as a city survive without him?"

Reports surfaced yesterday about a new terrorist plan to attack the New York City transit system using suicide bombers. The FBI called the plot "uncorroborated, but plausible" that was allegedly triggered by information obtained from a Pakistani citizen arrested overseas last week. Despite the unsubstantiated nature of the threat, it drew extra attention due to its involvement of top aides to Osama Bin Laden.

British newspaper The Telegraph reports that 10 "alleged members of a violent anarchist movement" were arrested by French anti-terrorist police. The leader of the movement, which is suspected of sabotaging the high speed TGV train lines' cables, and his girlfriend are linked by the FBI to the Times Square bombing this past March. The couple allegedly "were carrying anarchist texts in English and photos of an army recruitment centre in New York." And: "Although they had left the US before the bomb attack, they had allegedly been spotted shortly before at American anarchist meetings in New York." Dun dun DUN! [Via the Post]

In the event of a terrorist bombing, Frank Gehry’s design for the Nets stadium at Atlantic Yards is too close to the curb for comfort, according to Alan Rosner, a retired strategic and business analyst. Gehry’s latest vision for the stadium is less than 25 feet from the street, and though it would use more metal than the previous glass version, Rosner says it isn’t any safer: “Gehry's use of odd angles, dead spaces, hollows and overhangs means that should there ever be a car or truck bomb, the effects would be amplified. According to FEMA, reflected blast waves can be ten or more times as powerful as the initial explosive force.” He's calling for a new environmental review. [Atlantic Yards Report]

Last week, it was reported that Rudy Giuliani has been offering his support to Republicans up for re-election this fall, but with some strings attached, namely some money to help pay off his campaign debt. Now the Daily News reports Giuliani has "dished out $265,000 in PAC funds in recent months to keep his political options open."

Internal investigators at the Port Authority are faulting the overwhelming bureaucracy surrounding the construction of the Freedom Tower for the loss of confidential blueprints that could have left the new building vulnerable to those determined to strike the WTC again. Per the New York Post, "Experts say there was enough detail in the blueprints to lead to a devastating terrorist attack."

According to WNBC's Jonathan Dienst, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly wrote a letter to the MTA, MSG, Amtrak, and Vornado Realty expressing his dismay over the lack of Penn Station security. Three years after funding had been secured for the construction of a legitimately effective security barrier to protect Penn Station from a truck bomb attack, Kelly says little has been done to implement any plans.

After a man arrived at a Brooklyn hospital with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gun shot wound to his hand, police investigating the incident discovered a cache of weapons, including multiple pipe bombs, in his Brooklyn Heights apartment. Police could not rule out terrorism as they confiscated weapons and possibly explosive devices from the man's apartment on Remsen St. And they weren't going to let neighbors relax either.

Over two years after a jury found it negligent for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Port Authority continues to fight that claim. The NY-NJ agency and lawyers for the victims face the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court to argue their sides.

The Dept. of Homeland Security is funding the installation of a number of anti-missile defense systems on commercial jets flying in and out of JFK Airport. The tests are the third stage of testing of a system that is already used by military aircraft. The defense system consists of equipment affixed to the bottom of the aircraft that electronically jams the heat-seeking component of shoulder filed missiles. The latter are referred to as man portable air defense systems, or MANPADs. The current test of the anti-MANPAD systems on jets is to see how the equipment holds up on the real world operating conditions of a commercial jet.

Earlier today, former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed during a rally. The Western-educated (Harvard, Oxford) Bhutto had been living in Dubai and London for eight years, but returned in October to prepare for Pakistan's national elections (to be held next month) with hopes of returning to power. However, her return parade was bombed, killing 134 people and injuring more than 400. [Her obituary in the NY Times.]