Latest news with #JointTerrorismTaskForce
Daily Mirror
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Two people killed in 'anti-Semitic terrorism' as police swarm street
A man and a woman have been shot dead in the street of a busy city centre near a Jewish museum. Emergency services rushed to the scene at around 10.30pm on Wednesday (3.30am Thursday in UK) in the US capital, reports local media. Police officers have warned members of the public to avoid the area around the Capital Jewish Museum in Penn Quarter, Washington DC, following the incident. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is responding, sources familiar with the shooting told News4 in the US. Police have asked people to avoid the area whiley they investigate. No further details about the man and woman, such as their names, their relationship if they knew each other, and their ages, have been disclosed by police at this stage Multiple sources are suggesting the shooting was terror-related. The Mirror is working to verify this. Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has tweeted: "The shooting outside the event at the Jewish Museum in Washington – in which Israeli embassy employees were also injured – is a criminal act of anti-Semitic terrorism. Attacking diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line. "We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act. Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives – everywhere in the world."
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Kash Patel delivers fiery warning after FBI disrupts mass shooting terror plot targeting military
EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel issued a fiery warning after the bureau disrupted a mass shooting plot at a military base on behalf of ISIS. Patel told Fox News Digital that any individual targeting the U.S. military or conspiring with foreign terrorist organizations will be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." The director's warning comes after a former Michigan Army National Guard member, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested for allegedly planning a mass shooting near the U.S. Army's Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) center at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan. "Let this be a warning: Anyone who targets our military or conspires with foreign terrorist organizations will be found, stopped and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Patel told Fox News Digital Thursday. "I commend the men and women of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and our law enforcement partners for their continued dedication to protecting the American people." Said "launched his drone in support of the attack plan" and told an undercover FBI agent in the lead-up to the foiled plot he recommended that "everyone have about seven magazines because you don't want to be in there and run out of ammo," according to officials. Said is now facing charges of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years per count if convicted. The Justice Department said that, in April, "two undercover officers indicated they intended to carry out Said's plan at the direction of ISIS. "In response, Said provided material assistance to the attack plan, including providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover employees on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails for use during the attack and planning numerous details of the attack, including how to enter TACOM and which building to target." A criminal complaint stated that, around June 2024, Said started communicating with an undercover FBI agent who he thought was a fellow ISIS supporter. The complaint noted that Said enlisted in the Michigan Army National Guard in September 2022 and attended basic training at Fort Moore in Georgia. He later reported to the Michigan Army National Guard Taylor Armory before being discharged around December 2024. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation into the case. "Our agents, intelligence teams, and partners acted quickly — and they saved lives," Patel wrote on X Tuesday. "Well done to all on executing the mission."
CBS News
29-04-2025
- CBS News
Federal task force responsible for thwarting potential attacks in North Texas marks 45 years
If not for a federal task force's work in North Texas, residents could have been only a push of a button on a cell phone away from a possible terrorist disaster. "I just couldn't believe that level of predator was among us," said Tom Petrowski. Federal task force's crucial role in preventing terrorism in North Texas Petrowski said most North Texans are unaware of just how many potential terrorists are among us and how many acts of terrorism have been attempted but failed only because of the FBI task force he ran for 6 years, the Joint Terrorism Task Force SSA. That federal task force is recognizing its 45th anniversary this month. Petrowski said he can't count the number of terrorist cases he dealt with in Dallas. "The tempo of the JTTF was blistering," he said. Reflecting on 45 years: The legacy of the Joint Terrorism Task Force Petrowski and other members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force are looking back on the special investigative unit's history 45 years after its creation. "It's been absolutely critical, you know, after the events of 9/11," said Petrowski. "The one key takeaway was that we were only going to beat this together. One team, one fight." One of the team's toughest involved Hosam Smadi. The 19-year-old Jordanian national, who lived in Ellis County, gathered explosives and thought he was carrying out a terrorist attack in Downtown Dallas in 2009. But Smadi was unaware that his co-conspirators were actually undercover members of the task force who helped plant what he thought was a bomb in the back of a pickup truck that would be detonated by a cell phone. "The zeal and passion that he brought that day was absolutely shocking," Petrowski said, When he tried to set off the bomb underneath the 60-story Fountain Place tower, he was arrested and is still serving a 24-year prison sentence. "What I'm really proud of is the team, and the ability of so many across not just the Dallas division, but all these agencies that supported us," Petrowski said. The task force in Dallas also arrested Khalid Aldawsari in 2011, who had these bomb making materials in his Lubbock apartment and photos of how to hide them, as well as potential targets. Petrowski encourages ongoing awareness and preparedness Petrowski believes that without the Joint Terrorism Task Force, there would have been attacks throughout the U.S. Though he has retired, Petrowski urges those who follow him to remain vigilant and proud of what they've accomplished. "As I reflect, probably my best six years of my 36 years of government service."
Business Mayor
24-04-2025
- Business Mayor
USCIS Assists FBI Investigation Leading to Guilty Plea in ISIS-Inspired Election Day Terror Plot
OKLAHOMA CITY — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) played a critical role in an FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) investigation that brought a would-be terrorist to justice. The investigation resulted in an Afghan national pleading guilty to federal terrorism-related firearms charges in connection with a planned Election Day attack inspired by ISIS. Abdullah Haji Zada, 18, a lawful permanent resident originally from Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to knowingly receiving, attempting to receive, and conspiring to receive firearms and ammunition with the intent to commit a federal crime of terrorism. Court documents reveal that Zada and co-conspirator Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, obtained two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition for a planned November 2024 terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS. Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest in October 2024, entered his plea as an adult and faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, he will also be removed to Afghanistan after serving his sentence and has waived all rights to appeal or seek asylum. USCIS's Oklahoma City-based Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) JTTF Liaison provided key immigration law expertise to federal and local law enforcement partners during the investigation. USCIS' FDNS officers focus on identifying potential national security and public safety threats in collaboration with law enforcement and intelligence agencies. FDNS safeguards the integrity of the nation's immigration system and ensures that immigration benefits are not granted to individuals that may pose a threat to national security or public safety. The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office's Joint Terrorism Task Force includes USCIS, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Marshals Service, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and multiple local law enforcement agencies. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma and the Justice Department's National Security Division. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit or follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Ohio man arrested after investigators discover IED, videos, photos of bomb-making materials
A Mason, Ohio, man was arrested for allegedly possessing a destructive device after an investigation into an improvised explosive device (IED) found at a soccer complex led to the discovery of bomb-making materials. James River Phillips, 20, was arrested Thursday by the FBI Cincinnati Field Office's Joint Terrorism Task Force and charged with possession of an unregistered gun and possession of a destructive device. The arrest comes after the task force conducted a federal court-ordered search in Mason that morning. "The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested James River Phillips after he allegedly possessed a dangerous destructive device," FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola said. "The FBI and our partners worked together to ensure his actions were stopped before there was any risk to public safety." Bomb-making Materials Found At New Orleans Airbnb Potentially Tied To Bourbon Street Terrorist: Fbi According to an affidavit filed against Phillips, a Lebanon, Ohio, police officer discovered an IED at a soccer complex at about 12:30 a.m. Sept. 22, 2024. Read On The Fox News App Just before the discovery, the officer saw two men in their early 20s leaving the parking lot of the complex in a silver SUV, which was originally parked in the lot. The driver was described by police as having long curly hair. The officer made a traffic stop and told the two men to leave the parking lot since the complex was closed, the affidavit noted. Fbi Continues To Search For Jan. 6 Pipe Bomb Suspect 3 Years After Us Capitol Riot, Offers $500K Reward Once the two men left, the officer continued to drive in the parking lot and located an IED where the SUV had been parked, court documents allege. "The IED had wires running from a pile of white powder to a control switch," the affidavit states. "The control switch had a red light on when the LPD Officer discovered the IED. After encountering the device, the LPD Officer attempted to locate the two males but could not. The officer contacted Butler County Bomb Squad (BCBS) to seize the IED." BCBS discovered that the residue on the device contained nickel hydrazine nitrate, while the white powder contained erythritol tetranitrate. Fbi Releases Video Showing January 2021 Pipe Bomb Suspect Planting Device Outside Dns, Rnc Offices In Dc As they tested the IED detonator, it exploded, breaking the handheld chemical identification device. With the FBI's help, investigators used cellular data to track Phillips' phone to the parking lot between 12:15 a.m. and 12:21 a.m. The same phone allegedly sent two texts shortly after the SUV encountered police, one at 12:36 a.m. and the other at 12:40 a.m. On Dec. 2, 2024, Phillips reportedly got a driver's license photo, which the affidavit said shows him with the same curly hair the officer saw when he encountered the driver. Investigators executed a search warrant on the Apple iCloud account associated with the phone, which resulted in a video from April 5, 2024, showing two unidentified men in a parking lot under streetlights, near portable restrooms and a soccer net. One of the men could be heard counting down to one, before an explosive device detonated. In another video appearing to be from the same incident, an unidentified man says, "James, we gotta go," and "James, come on." Fbi Found 150 Bombs At Virginia Home In December, Prosecutors Say The video then shows a hole in the ground, which investigators say was the result of the previous explosion. The two men are then seen picking up the debris and leftover components. GPS data from the metadata of the video shows the video was shot in the parking lot of the same soccer complex in Lebanon, where the police officer encountered the IED months later, the affidavit notes. Additional photos and videos of explosions were reportedly found on the iCloud account from July 21, 2024, including the destruction of a car. In one of the videos, investigators wrote, Phillips is seen holding a detonation device as another man counts down from five to one. "After Phillips presses the detonation device, a large explosion is heard in the distance, and an unidentified male can be heard saying, 'It blew the car above the tree line,'" the affidavit said. "Additional photos and videos taken on July 21, 2024, show an explosion followed by photos of the destruction of a car that appeared to be destroyed from the explosion." The investigation later revealed to detectives that Phillips bought "precursor chemicals and materials for homemade explosives," which were shipped to his home in Mason and another residence of his in Oxford. His iCloud account also allegedly had recipes and notes on how to construct explosive devices, the affidavit claims. Photos also allegedly show Phillips constructing explosive devices in a shed in the woods. Phillips is expected to appear in court Friday for a bond hearing and will remain in custody until article source: Ohio man arrested after investigators discover IED, videos, photos of bomb-making materials
