UPDATE 5-New York Homes Searched in Terrorism Probe

This is an update to the "New York Residences Raided in Terrorism Probe" post.

UPDATE 5-New York homes raided in terrorism probe


* No imminent danger, congressmen say

* Focus on one man who met with people in Queens

* Apartment shared by five Afghan men searched - witness

* Militant ideology sympathetic to al Qaeda detected - NYT

By Edith Honan

NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - New York City police and the FBI raided homes in the borough of Queens early on Monday as part of an investigation into suspected terrorism, focusing on one man who has been under surveillance, officials said.

Authorities searched at least two apartments including one shared by five Afghan men, taking some of them in for questioning, said one man who was questioned.

Members of U.S. Congress briefed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation said there was no imminent danger.

"There was nothing imminent, and they are very good now at tracking potentially dangerous actions and this was preventive," said Charles Schumer, a U.S. Senator from New York who was among those briefed by FBI officials.

A man who identified himself as Amanullah Akbar, a 30-year-old taxi driver, said the FBI raided the apartment he shares with four other Afghan men at 2:30 a.m. (1630 GMT)

He was brought in for questioning and released and said he had no idea why his home was targeted, adding that he believed one of his roommates was arrested.

A neighbor said she saw FBI agents armed with what she called machine guns storm the apartment building, and that one of them emerged carrying a box.

"It was scary. I wasn't going to stop the FBI and ask them what was going on," said Melissa Khan, 28.

NYPD and FBI officials provided few details, calling it part of an ongoing investigation of the joint terrorism task force.>

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New York Residences Raided in Terrorism Probe

Still awaiting details on this, but hopefully members of RevolutionMuslim.com or the Islamic Thinkers Society have been arrested.

New York residences raided in terrorism probe
By TOM HAYS AND DEVLIN BARRETT

WASHINGTON -- Law enforcement agents have raided residences in New York City as part of a terrorism investigation, and are preparing to brief Congress about the investigation.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne confirms that searches were conducted in the borough of Queens on Monday by agents of a joint terrorism task force. He would not discuss the matter further.

Separately, federal authorities planned to brief senior lawmakers in Congress on the case later Monday.

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NY Muslim Gave Al Qaeda Subway Info

The news of Muslims in America turning against us has become an endless list. Only this time, this one turned rat to save his own hide.

Feds: US man gave al-Qaida NYC subway information
By TOM HAYS and DEVLIN BARRETT

NEW YORK – Authorities revealed Wednesday that an American — charged with providing information to al-Qaida on the New York transit system and attacking a U.S. military base in Afghanistan — has been a secret witness in the fight against terror both here and overseas.

Court papers unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn identified the defendant as Bryant Neal Vinas, also known as "Ibrahim."

His identity had been kept secret since his indictment late last year, and federal prosecutors refused to discuss his background Wednesday.

But a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the case, said Vinas provided critical information that led to a security alert about the New York City subway system last year.

Federal authorities issued an alert around Thanksgiving last year saying the FBI had received a "plausible but unsubstantiated" report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system around the holidays. The origin of that report, the source said, was Vinas.

Prosecutors charged Vinas in a rocket attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in September 2008. Court papers allege he also gave "expert advice and assistance ... on the New York transit system and Long Island Railroad."

For five months last year, Vinas received "military-style training" from al-Qaida, according to court papers.

Also, a defense attorney in a terrorism case in Belgium said prosecutors there traveled to New York earlier this year to interview Vinas. The lawyer said Vinas had provided a statement against the French and Belgium defendants charged with traveling to Pakistan to volunteer to fight with al-Qaida.

Vinas' defense attorney didn't immediately return a telephone message Wednesday.

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Yemen:9 Foreigners Murdered by Islamo Terrorists

Hezbollah sitting strong in the Lebanese government, Ahmadinejad staying in power and now this. Apparently the Islamic world was taking a nap during Obama's Cairo speech.

Nine foreign hostages killed in Yemen
AHMED AL-HAJ

SAN'A, Yemen – Nine missing foreigners in Yemen have been murdered, said a Yemeni official Monday, apparently executed by their kidnappers in the impoverished nation in the Arabian peninsula where al-Qaida has a strong presence.

The nine foreigners, including seven German nationals, a Briton and a South Korean, disappeared last week while on a picnic in the restive northern Saada region of Yemen.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, announced the discovery of the remaining six bodies Monday after three others had been found mutilated earlier in the day.

Yemen, the poorest nation in the Middle East, is home to restive tribes, a Shiite rebellion, as well as a branch of al-Qaida which operates in its remote regions and has often targeted foreigners as well as the U.S. embassy.

Shepherds roaming the area found the remains of three of the women in the mountainous northern Saada province near the town of el-Nashour, known as a hideout for al-Qaida militants, the official said.

In Berlin, the Foreign Ministry said it could not confirm the reports that the Germans had been killed. A spokesman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said that a ministry crisis team and the German embassy in San'a were working together to try and get more details.

Yemeni authorities said the group included a German doctor, his wife and their three children, as well as a Briton and his South Korean wife and two other German nationals. They were all working in a hospital in Saada, the state news agency said.

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