Nuke Threat Against Boston

[Dreadsox]

Governor Romney is having a press conference in 10 minutes.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

 

[Irvine511]

i assume this is what's going on?



Search underway for six who may pose terrorist threat to Boston
By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff | January 19, 2005

The FBI has triggered a massive manhunt for six people -- four Chinese and two Iraqis -- who may pose a terrorist threat to the city of Boston, law enforcement officials briefed on the threat said today.


The six are suspected of having come into the United States from Mexico, and may have headed to New York and then to Boston, the target of a planned attack that could involve a lethal substance, possibly chemical or biological or explosive, three law enforcement officials briefed on the threat said.

The tip about the threat was given to the FBI by only one person, the officials said, and it had not been corroborated as of this afternoon.

"It's being worked aggressively and shared with our law enforcement partners,'' FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkewicz said.

The state Emergency Management Agency has partially activated its emergency response team, with representatives from the Department of Public Health, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the State Police monitoring the situation in the emergency bunker in Framingham until the threat has passed.


Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting that a federal law enforcement official has stressed the tip is one of many from around the country that routinely are forwarded to local task forces for further investigation. No credible, specific terror threat has been identified in connection with the tip about suspects possibly entering the country from Mexico.

The AP said the investigation prompted Gov. Mitt Romney, who was in Washington to attend Thursday's presidential inauguration, to return to Boston later Wednesday evening, his spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom said. The governor planned to hold a news conference in Washington Wednesday night to discuss the matter before returning home.

FBI spokeswoman Marcinkiewicz said the terror alert had not been raised for Boston.

The AP also reported among the law enforcement agencies alerted was the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, where Deputy Chief Paul MacMillan told the AP that an "alert bulletin" was issued to its officers, as well as subway, train, bus and station workers to be on the lookout for the individuals.

"There is no specific threat or target indicated," he said, declining to discuss the details further

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

It's supposedly uncorroborated and the alert level hasn't been raised. They said "some sort of material"- based upon info from cell phone calls

 

[strannix]

It's incredibly hard to believe that there's any kind of credible nuke threat.

 

[verte76]

Oh, great. They supposedly have a "lethal substance". What the ????

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

CNN said it may be a Dirty Bomb.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Very worrying - especially if they are telling people about it. Complacency by law enforcement on such matters = death.

You can stick a diry bomb by just tracking down some radioactive isotopes in old medical equipment and adding it to explosives, it makes the material dissapate quite well.

 

[Judah]

"Four Chinese and two Iraqis"? Weird combination (i mean in that "let's hate Americans together" way).

 

[A_Wanderer]

An interesting combination I agree, it could be a joke;

"4 Chinese and and two Iraqis walk into a synagogue......."

 

[nbcrusader]

According to news reports, they walked into the country from Mexico.

 

[strannix]

From CNN:

"There is no further specific information regarding the city of Boston, nor is there any degree of specificity on the type of potential threat," the statement said. "As is done whenever we receive this type of information, all appropriate investigative steps are taken."

...

They were either carrying or planning to receive some unspecified dangerous materials, the sources said.

But Jan Caldwell, an FBI spokeswoman in San Diego, California, said agents get hundreds of such tips each day.

...

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino specifically dismissed reports of a plot involving a radiological "dirty bomb" or fuel tankers. He called on the public to remain calm amid "much misinformation circulating."

Nothing to see here, I guess. Move along, folks.

 

[dazzledbylight]

as of quite late last night, some people speculated this might be a smoke screen for some other type of attack. <yipes, either way>

Just hope for the best, and send what prayers or rituals you prefer to send protection to all over America & strength/sucess for those tracking down these possible terrorists.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

[q]FBI Adds 10 Names to List in Boston Threat

29 minutes ago White House - AP Cabinet & State


By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The FBI (news - web sites) on Thursday added the names of nine Chinese people and one other man to the list of those being sought for questioning about a possible terror plot targeting Boston.

FBI spokesman Joe Parris said the names "were developed as a result of the ongoing investigation" but did not signal that credible evidence has emerged indicating such a plot actually exists.


"Information is still uncorroborated and from a source of unknown reliability and motive," Parris said.


The names are part of the same anonymous tip that led authorities on Wednesday to announce that they are seeking to question four other Chinese and two Iraqis. The new names bring to 16 the people being sought for questioning.


Another federal law enforcement official in Washington, speaking condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said the tip was received by the California Highway Patrol. The tipster claimed the four Chinese — two men and two women — entered the United States from Mexico and were awaiting a shipment of "nuclear oxide" that would follow them to Boston.


The official said the nuclear oxide could be a reference to material used to make a "dirty bomb" that would spew radiation over a wide area.


U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan of Boston said earlier Thursday that authorities had learned more background about the original four Chinese, but "it makes us no more alarmed this morning, this afternoon, than we were yesterday."


"They're not wanted at this point in time for any crimes because there's no evidence at this point in time that they've committed any crimes," Sullivan said. "We're not certain exactly where they are. We can't even say for certain that they're in the country."


White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said he discussed the manhunt with President Bush (news - web sites) during an Oval Office meeting a few hours before Bush's inauguration for a second term. Card did not provide details on what was said.


The four Chinese previously named by the FBI were identified as Zengrong Lin, Wen Quin Zheng, Xiujin Chen and Guozhi Lin. Authorities said none of the names had appeared on previous watch lists of terror suspects. The bureau also released pictures of those four but not of the others being sought.


One woman was among the nine new Chinese names added: Yu Xian Weng, a woman either 40 or 41 years old. The others were all men: Quinquan or Quiquan Lin, 21; Liqiang Liang, 28; Min Xiu Xie, 27; Xiang or Xing Wei Liu, 22; Mei Xia Dong, 21; Xiuming Chen; Cheng Yin Liu; and Zao Yun Wang.


The final name on the new FBI list was Jose Ernesto Beltran Quinones, of unknown age or national origin.


In Boston, there were visible signs of stepped-up security, including some underground parking garages searching vehicles as they entered and pictures of the Chinese suspects posted inside the booths where subway tokens are sold by transit employees.


It was from Boston's Logan International Airport that two of the planes involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were launched, and tight security is something residents dealt with in the midst of the Democratic National Convention this past July.


Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who skipped President Bush's inauguration to return to the state Wednesday night after learning of the threat, sought to reassure residents that there was nothing to be alarmed about.


"These kinds of threats are going to be received from time to time. Generally we're going to be able to deal with them in a prompt manner and dismiss them with time and evidence," Romney said. "It's our hope that this turns out to be an invalid hoax of some kind. ... And yet we take these things very seriously."


___





Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

FBI: http://www.fbi.gov [/q]

 

[A_Wanderer]

Interesting, the fact that they went public means that this is high stakes, their source must have been very specific.

 

[Dreadsox]

If they are adding names, there is more than one source.

 

[deep]

Boston Terror Plot May Be a Hoax Inspired by Revenge

From Associated Press

January 22, 2005

BOSTON — The tipster who told federal officials about a potential terrorist plot involving Chinese and Iraqi immigrants may have fabricated the story out of revenge, a federal law enforcement official said Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the tipster may have been angry because a group of illegal immigrants had failed to pay for smuggling them into the U.S.

That scenario is one of many being examined in the case, said the official in Washington, who declined to describe the theories.

FBI agents have been looking into a tip that 16 people might be planning an attack on Boston. They include 13 Chinese nationals, two Iraqis and a man identified on the FBI's website as Jose Ernesto Beltran Quinones, whose nationality was not given.

Gov. Mitt Romney said Friday that he had become less concerned about the threat since it was first reported Wednesday.

The original tip was received by the California Highway Patrol, according to another law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The tipster claimed that four of the Chinese — two men and two women — entered the U.S. from Mexico and were awaiting a shipment of "nuclear oxide."