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The NTARC - National Terror Alert Response Center

New Alert Issued In U.S. To Watch For Shoe Bombers

A bulletin issued by the FBI and Homeland Security warns that terrorists are still trying to use shoes to conceal explosive devices. The joint FBI-Homeland Security bulletin warns that terrorists are still working to use “modified footwear as a concealment method for explosive devices”.

Following the seizure in Europe of hollowed-out shoes containing blasting caps, U.S. authorities have been told to be on the lookout for thick-soled shoes that could be used to conceal explosives, as infamously was the case with convicted “shoe bomber” Richard Reid.

According to a Department of Homeland Security-FBI bulletin issued Wednesday, Oct. 24, European authorities in September 2007 discovered a pair of shoes that were used to smuggle electric blasting caps across international borders for use in a terrorist attack.

“A recent terrorist incident involving the international smuggling of electric blasting caps highlights the continuing use of modified footwear as a concealment method for explosive devices,” stated the DHS-FBI Bulletin “Terrorist Use of Modified Footwear to Conceal Explosive Devices.”

“The FBI and DHS routinely send out these bulletins to our law enforcement and intelligence community partners to share information,” said Senior Special Agent Richard J. Kolko, chief of the National Press Office. “It is not related to a threat, but is provided in order to allow officers on the streets to be alert to items that appear routine but may not be, as they go about their daily duties.”

The bulletin itself noted there was no “specific, credible” current threat information indicating “that terrorists plan to use this concealment method in the homeland.” But it also noted the incident “highlights the continuing use of modified footwear as a concealment method for explosive devices.”

As such, the attempt to smuggle blasting caps is but the latest in a series of attempts by terrorists, whether autonomous or al Qaeda, to either smuggle explosive components in shoes, socks, gel bras and other items of clothing, or conceal complete improvised explosive devices in their clothing.

Orlando - Man Arrested On Charges of Planting Pipe Bomb On S.R. 417

A destructive device found on State Road 417 outside Orlando Florida has led to one arrest and several questions that will hopefully be answered at a joint press conference with representatives of the F.B.I. and A.T.F.

The Orlando Sentinal reports:

A months-long investigation led authorities to a pipe bomb on busy State Road 417 Wednesday afternoon, halting rush-hour traffic for more than an hour, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office disclosed late Wednesday.

A 21-year-old St. Cloud man was in custody Wednesday night, charged with manufacturing an explosive device. An arrest report said the man’s father and girlfriend led investigators to the homemade device in the westbound lanes of the highway around 4:30 p.m., about one mile west of John Young Parkway. Traffic was shut down while it was removed.

Deputy sheriffs expect to make at least four more arrests in the case, which also involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said Deputy Carlos Padilla, sheriff’s spokesman.

“This is not a terrorism plot,” Padilla said. “These are local guys who made [the bomb.]”

The sheriff’s spokesman did not name the suspect who was in custody. An arrest report at the Orange County Jail identified the man as Brandon Ryan Woll, a server at the Swan and Dolphin Hotel at Walt Disney World. He admitting to placing the bomb, the report said. He was being held on $1,000 bail.

Padilla said the man in custody and others to be arrested would face state and federal charges.

Below is a copy of an email sent out by the Orange County Sherifs Department

On 10/24/2007 at approximately 4:30pm a destructive device was found in the westbound lanes of Hwy 417. The device was located 1 mile west of John Young Parkway. As a result of a joint investigation between the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the agency of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms, the device was found and rendered safe.

The joint operation led to an arrest with several more arrests pending.

State and federal charges will be filed on all suspects.

Explosives May Be Planted Somewhere In Central Florida

This is an update to our earlier post “Man Arrested On Charges of Planting Pipe Bomb On S.R. 417”

A group believed responsible for making and planting homemade bombs on Disney property and near a busy road may have placed other explosives around Central Florida, according to investigators.

An investigation was launched in July after sheriff’s deputies responded to a pipe bomb explosion in a Downtown Disney trash bin.

Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary said officers have determined that the device at Disney and another bomb found on the side of the Highway 417 and International Drive Wednesday were planted by the same people. And, there may be more unfound devices in the area.

“Further investigation has led us to believe that there were a number of suspects involved,” Beary said. “One suspect, after questioning, led us to believe there were other devices made and discarded in Orange County.”

Beary said both found explosives were powerful enough to kill someone.

“Every since 9/11 happened there seems to be more and more of this activity out there,” Beary said. “There seems to be more and more players who want to get involved and they really don’t know what they’re messing with. (They’re) not only a danger to others, they’re a danger to themselves.

Beary said the incidents are not terrorist-related.

Officers said Brandon Ryan Woll, 21, was arrested in connection with Wednesday’s discovery but three or four more people will likely be taken into custody this week.

44 Homes Evacuated After Explosive Device Found During Traffic Stop

Incidents of this nature appear to be taking place with increased frequency across the nation.

Fremont Police locked down a high school today and evacuated dozens of homes. They say they found an explosive device in a car and then went to search the driver’s home.

The concern about explosives started this afternoon around when police made a car stop in San Jose and discovered an explosive device. Police say the driver of the car had ties to a house under investigation in Fremont.

Fremont Police have evacuated 44 homes around Burr Avenue and Boone Drive.

Investigators say there could be explosive materials in a home on the 39800 block of Burr Avenue. Police did pull over a pick-up leaving the house. It was searched and nothing dangerous found.

Kennedy High School was also on lockdown for more than two hours today. Students were allowed to file out of school at 2:30 this afternoon, but for now the explosive threat remains and the neighbor evacuation order is in place.

“We’re taking every precaution possible. We’re assisting with our SWAT team, we’ve also cordoned off a several-block area around the house until the search completed,” explains Det. Bill Veteran with the Fremont Police Department.

Until that search warrant is carried out and the house deemed completely safe, the evacuation remains in effect.

There is a gym at the high school which could be used as an evacuation center, but so far, no one has checked in there.

Pipe Bomb MySpace Video Leads To Arrests of “Bomb Sqaud”

Police say two men calling themselves the “Bomb Squad” set off a pipe bomb at a Long Island water fountain — and then posted a video of their act on MySpace.

Southold police say they were tipped off to the video showing the duo igniting the explosive in the Polo Grounds fountain on Moores Lane in Greenport.

Police say they arrested 24-year-old Thomas Woods and 26-year-old Richard Saetta and charged them with criminal mischief and criminal possession of a dangerous weapon. They are scheduled to be arraigned today in Southold Justice Court.

To bad all Idiots are'nt as smart as these Idiots...
One good thing,well a couple of things No loss of innocent life & they filmed it,
Easier to prosecute!

P.S
Keep up the good work(police in America)

Evacuation After Suspicious Device Discovered - Mannequin Head With Wires

Police evacuated an area covering about half a block in downtown Fargo after a coffee shop owner found what looked like a computer with wires running to a mannequin’s head. The area bomb squad checked the item and found it harmless.

Nancy Nerland, who owns the Moxie Java coffee shop, found the item behind her store early Monday morning, police said. Sgt. Mike Bernier said authorities were erring on the side of caution, and they called in the Red River Valley bomb squad. Surrounding businesses and a few apartment buildings were evacuated.

Lt. Joel Vettel said the bomb squad hit the suspicious device with powerful jets of water, and an examination showed it was harmless.

He said another mannequin’s head was found a half-block away, at the state’s only abortion clinic, jammed on an exhaust pipe, and a third mannequin’s head was found outside one of the federal buildings.

Federal officials have joined the investigation to find out who is responsible.

“What the person’s intent in doing that was, we do not know at this point. Obviously, it was alarming to at least one person, if not more,” Vettel said.

FBI Arrests Teen For Bomb Threats Against McAllen Miller International Airport

The FBI has arrested a 19-year-old United States citizen for making bomb threats directed towards McAllen Miller International Airport.

According to an FBI report Juan Rodrigo Rodriguez made at least four bomb threats between August 22, 2007 and September 10, 2007.

The threats were reportedly sent via web message by accessing McAllen Miller Airport’s website. Federal agents say all threats were directed at the facility and at a commercial aircraft.

Ralph Diaz, Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division of Federal Bureau of Investigations, said “under the current security environment, these types of fabricated threats will not be tolerated by law enforcement and will be aggressively investigated”.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez also assisted in this investigation. He said “this joint investigative effort is an excellent example of the seriousness given to these types of threats towards our community”.

Police Find One Of 2 Fuel Trucks Stolen From Biodiesel Station

Fort Worth police said they have found one of two trucks loaded with thousands of gallons of fuel that were stolen from a biodiesel station near Interstate 35W and Loop 820 last week.

Police said a 2,400-gallon tanker truck and a Dodge Ram flatbed truck were stolen last Wednesday night.

One of the trucks was found Tuesday morning a block away from an aluminum recycling plant in Kennedale after a tip. The tipster will receive free fuel.

"Those trucks could be anywhere," DFW Biodiesel owner Bobby Camp said on Monday. "They could be parted out. They could be in Mexico. Really, there's no telling, to be honest with you."

Camp and other investors opened the biofuel station four years ago in north Fort Worth to sell environmentally friendly fuel made out of soybeans. A company owned by singer Willie Nelson, who has championed the diesel alternative for years, produces the fuel.

Camp, a full-time mechanic at American Airlines who operates the station in his spare time, said he has no insurance. The theft is a huge setback to his operation, he said.

"It makes you become very discouraged," he said.

Camp said he found another company to haul in more fuel until he finds his stolen truck or gets a new one.

"We're going to try to get a replacement for it," he said. "It's our bread and butter. We use it every day."

According to police, the thieves may have been more interested in the aluminum fuel tanks than the fuel itself.

Monroe Pa.- Homemade Explosive Discovered On I-80 Clarion Exit Ramp

The Clarion exit of Interstate 80 was shut down for nearly four hours Monday after PennDOT workers discovered what appeared to be a homemade explosive device along the eastbound off-ramp to Route 68 around 11 a.m., state police said.
The device was a liquid filled plastic bottle with batteries attached using duct tape and wires leading between the batteries and the liquid, police said. A state police explosives unit from Harrisburg was flown in to the scene and the Erie Bomb Squad also responded to the scene, police said.

The explosives units worked to detonate the device, but the device failed to detonate and was collected as evidence, police said. Clarion Fire Department and Clarion Hospital Ambulance personnel assisted at the scene as well. The roadway was reopened to traffic at 2:45 p.m., police said.

Rochester NY - Objects Found In Street Were Explosive

Rochester police say two suspicious objects found in a city neighborhood early Wednesday morning were explosive. The discovery prompted two homes to be evacuated.

Police found the devices in the area of Durham and Macbeth Streets after neighbors reported hearing shots or explosions. The bomb squad was called in and destroyed the devices.

Police interviewed several witnesses at the scene this morning but no arrests have been made.

Domestic Terrorism - Animal Liberation Front Claims It Flooded Professors Home

A radical animal rights group, The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) said it flooded the home of a Los Angeles college professor because she is involved in research that uses of lab monkeys.

A spokeswoman for the FBI said the agency is probing the Animal Liberation Front’s claim that it used a garden hose to flood the home of University of California-Los Angeles Professor Edythe London on Oct. 20, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The group claimed responsibility for the flood, saying it was an attempt to halt London’s animal experiments involving nicotine addiction.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told the Times the bureau and local police were treating the case as domestic terrorism and are investigating possible links between the incident and a June case that involved an incendiary device that was lighted next to a car owned by a UCLA eye disease researcher. The device didn’t explode.

The Animal Liberation Front said in a news release Monday that it had initially considered setting a fire in London’s home but didn’t want to risk harming animals “human and non-human.”

Man Pleads Guilty to Weapons Charges in Alleged Terror Plot to Attack Fort Dix

A man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to providing weapons to a group of men accused of plotting an attack on Fort Dix. The plot involved storming the base with automatic weapons and attempting to kill as many soldiers and other personnel as possible.

Agron Abdullahu, 25, faces up to five years in federal prison when he is sentenced Feb. 6.

Federal prosecutors have portrayed the New Jersey resident as having the smallest role among the six men arrested earlier this year in the case. The 27-year-old was born in what is now Kosovo and worked in a bakery.

Naperville Ill - Suspicious Suitcase Forces Train Station Evacuation School Lock-down

The west side of Naperville’s 5th Avenue train station has been evacuated, trains on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad have been stopped in both directions, and schools in the area have been placed on lock-down as authorities investigate a suspicious package left in the bushes near the station.

Cmdr. Dave Hoffman said at 1:15 p.m. today that the DuPage County Bomb Detection Unit is responding to the scene as well as dogs from the Metra Police Department, which are specially trained for explosives detection.

The package was described as a suitcase, and it appeared several suspects purposely concealed it in some bushes sometime this morning along Ellsworth Street adjacent the 5th Avenue Station, authorities said.

A bomb threat was called in Wednesday morning, the DuPage County sheriff’s office sent its bomb squad to the station, at 105 E. 4th Ave. in downtown Naperville.

At 11:30 a.m., a train headed from Union Station to Aurora was stopped just east of the Naperville depot, and police evacuated the station, Metra officials said. By the 1 p.m. hour, all trains were stopped, including Burlington Northern line Metra trains and freight trains.

A bomb squad trailer was situated in the parking lot, where a suitcase had been spotted in the bushes between the parking lot and the tracks. The suitcase was isolated by the bomb squad and X-rayed on the scene.

It was not known as of 1:25 p.m. if the suitcase contained explosives or other dangerous materials, or if it might have all been a Halloween prank.

Bin Ladens Followers Planning Electronic Jihad Cyber Terror Attack On 11/11?

Debka has posted this announcement on their site:

In a special Internet announcement in Arabic, picked up DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources, Osama bin Laden’s followers announced Monday, Oct. 29, the launching of Electronic Jihad. On Sunday, Nov. 11, al Qaeda’s electronic experts will start attacking Western, Jewish, Israeli, Muslim apostate and Shiite Web sites. On Day One, they will test their skills against 15 targeted sites expand the operation from day to day thereafter until hundreds of thousands of Islamist hackers are in action against untold numbers of anti-Muslim sites.

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that, shortly after the first announcement, some of al Qaeda’s own Web sites went blank, apparently crashed by the American intelligence computer experts tracking them.

The next day, Oct. 30, they were up again, claiming their Islamic fire walls were proof against infidel assault.

They also boasted an impenetrable e-mail network for volunteers wishing to join up with the cyber jihad to contact and receive instructions undetected by the security agencies in their respective countries.

Our sources say the instructions come in simple language and are organized in sections according to target. They offer would-be martyrs, who for one reason or another are unable to fight in the field, to fulfill their jihad obligations on the Net. These virtual martyrs are assured of the same thrill and sense of elation as a jihadi on the “battlefield.”

In effect, say DEBKAfile’s counter-terror experts, al Qaeda is retaliating against Western intelligence agencies’ tactics, which detect new terrorist sites and zap them as soon as they appear. Until now, the jihadists kept dodging the assault by throwing up dozens of new sites simultaneously. This kept the trackers busy and ensured that some of the sites survived, while empty pages were promptly replaced. But as al Qaeda’s cyber wizards got better at keeping its presence on the Net for longer periods, so too did Western counter-attackers at knocking them down. Now Bin Laden’s cyber legions are fighting back. The electronic war they have declared could cause considerable trouble on the world’s Internet.