New Terror Plots Leave Americans Jittery

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New Terror Plots Leave Americans Jittery

From Dallas to Queens, authorities are a step ahead of the bad guys, for now

By GREG WILSON
Updated 7:45 AM EDT, Fri, Sep 25, 2009


http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/politics/New-Terror-Plots-Leave-Americans-Jittery-61442717.html


Multiple terror plots have been uncovered in cities across the nation, leaving Americans jittery over the prospect that al-Qaeda or like-minded groups may be planning a new campaign on U.S. soil.

Authorities have not said whether the cases are related, but they come during the same week in which the federal Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to police around the country warning that terrorists could be seeking to blow up sports stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels. Authorities said no particular plot prompted the bulletin, citing only al-Qaeda's longstanding desire to kill Americans in mass attacks.

In the meantime, seemingly unrelated cases around the nation have grabbed headlines:

In New York, feds have indicted a suspected leader of an al Qaeda terror cell with ties to Queens and Denver. Authorities say Najibullah Zazi had instructions and ingredients for making bombs and had trained with the terror group.

In Dallas, the FBI arrested a Jordanian Thursday who they say tried to blow up a downtown office tower after vowing to wage violent jihad against the U.S. The bomb was a fake, supplied by undercover agents who had been tracking Hosam Maher Husein Smadi.

In Chicago, a 29-year-old man calling himself "Talib Islam" parked a van full of what he thought were bombs in front of a federal building and tried to detonate it. As with the Dallas case, the bombs were fake, supplied by undercover agents as part of a sting operation.

In Philadephia, transit officials say two unidentified men seen taking photographs of a subway line fled after being questioned by workers. Police don't know if the separate incidents have anything to do with terrorism, but are looking for the men to interview them.

The New York plot seems to have been the farthest along, according to authorities. Federal agents had been monitoring Zazi for months, and say he began plotting as early as August 2008 to "use one or more weapons of mass destruction,'' when he "and others'' traveled from Newark, N.J., to receive explosives training in Pakistan.