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Four Arrested for Suspected Terror Ties
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) - Authorities have arrested four people accused of having ties to suspected terrorists and blocked 12 more from entering the United States in the first two weeks of this year, according to government documents.
Daily reports from the Homeland Security Operations Center do not contain classified information. But they are not distributed publicly and generally intended to remain secret.
They offer a glimpse into what national security officials are doing to prevent an attack, detailing arrests, criminal incidents and law enforcement tips.
A counterterrorism official confirmed Wednesday that the documents made available online this week were legitimate.
The publication - at http://cryptome.org - initially led to an investigation of a possible security breach, but apparently their Internet posted resulted from an unsecured link on Energy Department's Web site that has since been corrected, the official said.
Three arrests came last week in Michigan, New York and Louisiana, and suspects were either held in connection with terrorism investigations or placed in deportation proceedings, according to the documents. The fourth came Jan. 6 at Los Angeles International Airport. The documents named those charged as:
-Fadi Hussein Nasser, a Lebanese national, who carried a driver's license bearing an address that authorities said was possibly linked to Hezbollah and "another subject with possible terrorist ties, as well as narcotics smuggling." He was arrested Jan. 12 during a traffic stop near Marysville, Mich., and put in removal proceedings.
-Murtada Ali Barakat, who is being held without bail in New York in connection with an investigation conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Joint Terrorism Task Force and the New York City Police Department. Barakat was charged Jan. 12 with marriage fraud and false statements. His arrest was part of an investigation into "Moslem Baidoun," who was named in a 20-count indictment issued Dec. 13 with 13 other suspects.
-Pakistani national Fazal U. Khan, described as the subject of a "national security investigation," who was arrested Jan. 13 in Lake Charles, La. In October, Khan was arrested by the FBI as the result of a Joint Terrorism task Force "national security investigation," and pleaded guilty on Jan. 6 of making false statements. He was placed in removal proceedings.
-Hussam Ahmad Khalil, a Jordan national, arrested Jan. 6 at the Los Angeles airport for allegedly violating state trademark regulations regarding impure oil. Authorities suspect he sends up to $40,000 to the Middle East each month and believe he is a member of Hamas. He is also suspected of wire fraud, trademark violations, harboring illegal aliens, narcotic smuggling and visa fraud.
The documents do not provide conclusive evidence of terrorist activity, said national security experts. They described the documents as part of the government's attempts to share information about possible leads with law enforcement agencies across the country.
"When you put something in this channel, it's 'Leave no stone unturned, put everything in there, no matter how remotely irrelevant it is,'" said Roger Cressey, a former White House counterterrorism official during the Clinton and first Bush administrations.
In general, the reports go to various federal agencies, and state and local officials and law enforcement authorities.
Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse, acknowledging the mistaken release of the documents, said they contained "sensitive information."
"We encourage all of our partners with whom we share this information to ensure that it is appropriately protected," Roehrkasse said. "The public dissemination of detailed, sensitive information only hinders our ability to prevent acts of terrorism and to protect our nation's citizens."
A message left Wednesday with an Energy Department spokesman was not immediately returned.
