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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335884,00.html

Law Enforcement: No Link Between Letter Sent to Congress, Times Square Bombing

Friday, March 07, 2008

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“The letter is in essence advice to Democratic legislators. It’s innocuous,” said New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. “It’s the type of thing you hear on television all the time. ...The FBI questioned this individual yesterday and they pretty much discounted it.”

But though there wasn’t a link to the Times Square blast, the investigation into the letters is ongoing, Capitol Hill sources told FOX News.

Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill were startled to receive the notes in their office mail Thursday afternoon, just hours after the early morning New York bombing, and turned them over to the Capitol Police.

In a phone interview with WNYW-TV in New York, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Pete King (R-NY), said more letters could be discovered Friday morning because of the sheer number that was sent.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officials were investigating whether the explosion was connected to strikingly similar bombings at two foreign consulates in New York.

And authorities were revisiting a recent incident last month involving four men who tried to flee a checkpoint at the border with Canada when Canadian officials attempted to question them, according to Kelly.

Two of the men got away, leaving behind a backpack that included photos of locations in New York City, including the recruitment center at Times Square, the commissioner said.

Investigators continued to scrutinize surveillance video and forensic evidence after an apparent bicycle-riding bomber struck the landmark station Thursday, scarring one of the world’s most recognizable locations.

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335500,00.html

List of Thwarted Terror Attacks Since Sept. 11

Thursday, March 06, 2008

By Joseph Abrams

The following is a list of known terror plots thwarted by the U.S. government since Sept. 11, 2001.

• December 2001, Richard Reid: British citizen attempted to ignite shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.

• May 2002, Jose Padilla: American citizen accused of seeking “dirty bomb,” convicted of conspiracy.

• September 2002, Lackawanna Six: American citizens of Yemeni origin convicted of supporting Al Qaeda. Five of six were from Lackawanna, N.Y.

• May 2003, Iyman Faris: American citizen charged with trying to topple the Brooklyn Bridge.

• June 2003, Virginia Jihad Network: Eleven men from Alexandria, Va., trained for jihad against American soldiers, convicted of violating the Neutrality Act, conspiracy.

• August 2004, Dhiren Barot: Indian-born leader of terror cell plotted bombings on financial centers (see additional images).

• August 2004, James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj: Sought to plant bomb at New York’s Penn Station during the Republican National Convention.

• August 2004, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain: Plotted to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat on American soil.

• June 2005, Father and son Umer Hayat and Hamid Hayat: Son convicted of attending terrorist training camp in Pakistan; father convicted of customs violation.

• August 2005, Kevin James, Levar Haley Washington, Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana: Los Angeles homegrown terrorists who plotted to attack National Guard, LAX, two synagogues and Israeli consulate.

• December 2005, Michael Reynolds: Plotted to blow up refinery in Wyoming, convicted of providing material support to terrorists.

• February 2006, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi and Zand Wassim Mazloum: Accused of providing material support to terrorists, making bombs for use in Iraq.

• April 2006, Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee: Cased and videotaped the Capitol and World Bank for a terrorist organization.

• June 2006, Narseal Batiste, Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lyglenson Lemorin, and Rotschild Augstine: Accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower.

• July 2006, Assem Hammoud: Accused of plotting to hit New York City train tunnels.

• August 2006, Liquid Explosives Plot: Thwarted plot to explode ten airliners over the United States.

• May 2007, Fort Dix Plot: Six men accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey.

• June 2007, JFK Plot: Four men accused of plotting to blow up fuel arteries underneath JFK Airport in New York.

• March 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Mastermind of Sept. 11 and author of numerous plots confessed in court in March 2007 to planning to destroy skyscrapers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.