7 arrested in attack plot in US
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-23 09:14
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Chicago's Sears Tower is shown on Friday, Dec. 2, 2005. Several
people were arrested in connection with the early stages of a plot to
attack the Sears Tower and other buildings in the US, a federal law
official said. [AP Photo]
| Seven people were
arrested Thursday in connection with the early stages of a plot to attack
Chicago's Sears Tower and other buildings in the US, a federal law enforcement
official said.
The official told The Associated Press the alleged plotters were mainly
Americans with no apparent ties to al-Qaida or other foreign terrorist
organizations. He spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt news
conferences planned for Friday in Washington and Miami.
Miami US Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said in a statement that the
investigation was an ongoing operation and that more details would be released
Friday. Local media reported that agents were raiding a warehouse in Miami's
Liberty City section.
"There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area because of these
operations," said Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington. He declined
further comment.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was scheduled to hold a news conference
Friday to discuss the raid. A simultaneous news conference was to be held in
Miami.
Cedric Thomas, an owner of Thomas Produce Market, told The Miami Herald the
area around his store was teeming with federal agents.
"There is a ton of guys in uniforms moving around, blocking the streets,"
Thomas said.
Several terrorism investigations have had south Florida links. Several of the
Sept. 11 hijackers lived and trained in the area, including ringleader Mohamed
Atta, and several plots by Cuban-Americans against Fidel Castro's government
have been based in Miami.
Jose Padilla, a former resident once accused of plotting to detonate a
radioactive bomb in the US, is charged in Miami with being part of a North
American terror cell.
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