The Latest from National Terror Alert Response Center

Homeland Security Plans For Violence On US Border Posted: 12 Mar 2009 08:01 PM PDT Tighter gun control and stronger law enforcement in Southwestern states were recommended Thursday by lawmakers concerned about drug violence in Mexico possibly spilling across the border. The escalating violence — which has killed thousands, mostly south of the border — has been blamed on Mexican drug cartels which one Homeland Security official described as the biggest organized crime threat facing the United States. Roger Rufe, Homeland Security’s head of operations, outlined the agency’s plans for protecting the border, a response that includes — as a last resort — deploying military personnel and equipment to the region if other agencies are overwhelmed. Echoing comments a day earlier from President Barack Obama, Rufe said there currently was no need to militarize the Southwestern border with Mexico, despite violence that threatens to migrate into the United States. “We would take all resources short of DoD (Defense Department) and National Guard troops before we reach that tipping point,” Rufe told lawmakers on a House homeland security subcommittee. “We very much do not want to militarize our border.” Rufe did not specify what circumstances would trigger a call for troops. Source - Full Article This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

FBI Concerned Young Men Being Recruited For Terrorism Posted: 12 Mar 2009 07:43 PM PDT Sources told KING 5 News that Seattle FBI agents are now working on a nationwide terrorism investigation. The FBI has confirmed some cases of young men traveling to the East African nation of Somalia to join al Qaeda-sponsored groups there. One of the cases they’re looking at includes a man killed in fighting in Somalia last year – an American citizen from Seattle. Ruben Shumpert was a convert to radical Islam whose anti-American rhetoric and quest for guns brought him to the attention of the Seattle FBI in 2004. Agents raided his south Seattle barbershop and arrested a group of men in a potential terrorism case. Those people later pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, but Shumpert who was free on bond never showed for sentencing. Last year he was listed among the dead in a U.S.-sponsored rocket attack near Mogadishu - the capital of war-ravaged Somalia. Muslim extremists are fueling the fighting and now the investigation into Shumpert’s apparent death has taken on new urgency because at a Seattle mosque – and others in the Minneapolis area – at least a dozen Somali families report young men who have vanished. In several cities the FBI is investigating whether young Somali Americans have traveled back to their native country to fight. Source Read Full Article This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Amsterdam Police Foil Terror Attack On Shopping Mall Posted: 12 Mar 2009 07:35 PM PDT Seven people have been arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of planning a terror attack on an Ikea furniture store and a number of shops near the Ajax stadium in the capital Amsterdam. The arrests follow a telephone warning to Amsterdam police late on Wednesday evening, police chief Bernard Welten said on Thursday evening. The caller from Brussels said three people were planning an attack using explosive devices in or near a major department store in the southeast of Amsterdam. The aim was to cause as many casualties as possible, the caller said. Public prosecutor Herman Bolhaar told the press that the caller was a relative of one of the perpetrators of the train bombings in Madrid, five years ago. The six men and one woman who were arrested are between 19 and 64 years of age; all of them are Dutch citizens of Moroccan origin. House search by Amsterdam police, 12 Mar 09 NOSAll of them are charged with preparing an act of terrorism. After these arrests, police say the threat has been eliminated, but the prosecutor added that more people may be arrested. In addition to the arrests and a number of house searches in the Dutch capital, police in Belgium carried out house seaches in Brussels. In the course of Thursday morning, the Ikea store and a number of other shops in the area were evacuated. The shops are on Arena Boulevard, named after Ajax’s Arena football stadium which is nearby. The shops and the Heineken Music Hall remained closed all day. It is not clear when they will reopen; the police search for hidden explosives is continuing. Source This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

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