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FBI searches Palm Beach County ex-home of Saudi family
Palm Beach Post ^ | 1/22/03 | SCOTT MCCABE and ELIOT KLEINBERG

Posted on 01/22/2003 2:30:57 AM PST by Ranger

FBI agents Tuesday night searched the former home of a Saudi family, who a neighbor said had enrolled an adult son in a nearby flight training school and had left ''in a hurry'' two days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

State records and neighbors in the upscale neighborhood in Greenacres, which is just southwest of West Palm Beach, identified the head of the family as Mohamad Almasri, 57.

According to state records, others who lived at the house were Madawi Almasri, 26; Turki Ma Almasri, 22; and Afaf I. Arif, 47.

Neighbors said Almasri lived at the home with his wife, a son and daughter in their late teens or early 20s, and a younger son and daughter.

Several agents, some in white biohazard suits, arrived Tuesday afternoon at the home at 1606 Doral Dr. in Fairway Isles, a gated community, neighbors said.

Into the night, agents went in and out of the home, carrying plastic and paper bags, and dug up parts of the front yard.

Neighbors said they saw the agents carrying what appeared to be metal detectors.

A pickup hauling a large metal trailer was backed up to the front door.

Miami FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said Tuesday night that the agents were acting on a search warrant. She would not say what they were looking for or might have found or whether there was any link to the ongoing national terrorist investigations.

At least 12 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked jets on Sept. 11 had addresses showing they once lived in Palm Beach County.

Lisa Dickerson, Martha Ruth's daughter, said she watched Mohamad Almasri hustle his family into their car on Sept. 9, 2000. She said that a few days after the attacks, when news reports began focusing on possible connections between the terrorists and the nearby Lantana airport, she called a special national FBI hot line.

''It was just the way he put them in,'' Dickerson said. ``It happened so fast.''

Martha Ruth, Dickerson's mother, said the home has been empty ever since, although she recalled briefly seeing Almasri or the adult son in the home a few days or weeks after the family's abrupt departure. Neighbors said they also grew suspicious when the grass in the yard became overgrown and cars normally out front were gone.

Neighbors said homeowners association officers tried to track down the family without result, and that at one association meeting in the last year, at least one family reported they had been talking to the FBI and local police.

Neighbors milled Tuesday night behind yellow crime scene tape that stretched in front of the home and across Doral Drive to the front yard of Rodney Lamarca. Lamarca said Almasri told him he was an engineer.

Lamaraca said the FBI had searched the home about two weeks ago. He did not know if that had been the agency's first visit.

''Now they are back like gangbusters,'' Lamarca said. ``They must have found something.''

Lamarca said homeowner association president Dave Remsen told him FBI agents had said they removed a computer and disks. Remsen told him FBI agents said the family packed up so quickly that food was left on the table.

Lamarca said last week he saw the FBI use tools to unlock a car that had been sitting in the garage. ''I didn't know it was there,'' Lamarca said.

Martha Ruth said the Almasri family bought the house about two years ago and came in the summer, telling her they were taking a vacation from their home in Saudi Arabia.

''They introduced themselves to me and they were very friendly neighbors,'' said Ruth, a retired private-duty nurse. ``I didn't even know their last name.''

Ruth said she was told the couple's son, Turki, 22, was attending one of the three flight schools at the nearby Lantana airport. Palm Beach Flight Training owner Marian Smith said Turki had not trained there.

Kemper Aviation manager David Allison said he would not have access to records until the morning. Officials at Chandelle Aviation said they would check Tuesday night but did not call back.

Owen Gassaway, Jr., who runs the commercial operation at the Lantana airport, said he keeps photographs and names of all suspected terrorists that the FBI has asked airports and flight schools to monitor.

He said he checked them Tuesday night and ``nothing matched.''

Michigan records show Mohamad Almasri as the registered agent for two corporations based in Dearborn, Mich. The Detroit suburb has the largest Arab-American population in the United States, according to the Arab-American Anti-Defamation League.

A Mohamad Almasri contacted in Dearborn said he is not the Florida Almasri and that he is not connectedto the Dearborn corporations.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 911; almasri; anthrax; florida; jihadislam; masri; saudiarabia; terrorism
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1 posted on 01/22/2003 2:30:57 AM PST by Ranger
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
ping
2 posted on 01/22/2003 2:31:29 AM PST by Ranger
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To: All
Interesting.
3 posted on 01/22/2003 2:32:24 AM PST by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: All

Put a smile on your face, donate to FR today!

(Thanks Chance33_98 for the ad)

4 posted on 01/22/2003 2:33:03 AM PST by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: Ranger
Ranger, I know the article says the family name was "Almasri", but recently a very infamous person has come to national attention with a similar last name and he is "Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri, the imam of Finsbury Park mosque". Probably, just a coincidence, I guess.
***An Interesting Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding a www.opinion.TELEGRAPH.co.uk article by Sean O'Neill: "HAMZA ACCUSED OF TRYING TO SET UP TERRORIST CELL" (TELEGRAPH.co.uk ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri, the imam of Finsbury Park mosque, stands accused in the United States of attempting to establish a terrorist cell there to "engage in violent global jihad". Hamza, 45, is the key figure in a federal grand jury investigation in Seattle which accuses him of being a terrorist recruiter and names one of his followers as an al-Qa'eda agent in the US. James Ujaama, a black Muslim activist, faces trial later this year on charges of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon.") (January 22, 2003)

NY POST.com: "CHILLING RICIN TWIST" by Niles Lathem (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "WASHINGTON - The terrorists arrested in Europe for planning to carry out attacks there with ricin are part of the vicious Algerian network behind the millennium bomb plots in the United States, sources say. U.S. officials are monitoring the recent arrests in Britain and France amid concern that the "Algerian wing" of Osama bin Laden's terror empire has been activated for assassinations and biological and chemical attacks in America and Europe.") (January 20, 2003)

5 posted on 01/22/2003 2:49:38 AM PST by Cindy
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To: Ranger
Well, I couldn't find any hits for "Turki Ma Almasri", so I deleted the last name and came up with this:

GOOGLE Search Term: "Turki Ma"
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Turki+Ma%22&btnG=Google+Search

Search Results:
p: In most browsers you can just hit the return key instead of clicking on the search button.

The Manila Times Internet Edition | TOP STORIES > 10 more wait to ...
... attacks. With al-Ghamdi were Samer Aljedawi, Ali al-Watban, Ahmed MA
Barrack, MB al-Harbi, Mohammad FH Aldosari and Turki MA Alghadir. ...
www.manilatimes.net/national/2002/apr/ 19/top_stories/20020419top2.html - 29k - Cached - Similar pages

[DOC]America Strikes Back – The War on Terrorism
File Format: Microsoft Word 2000 - View as HTML
... Jedawi, Ali SM al-Watban, Ahmed MA al-Eisa, Mohammed AA al-Sahrani, Abdulk Kareem
e. Khalil, Barraka MB al-Harbi, Mohammed FH al-Dosari and Turki MA al-Ghadir. ...
www.vic-info.org/.../b0a93faa9a7b902f8a25682c000e4eff/ d16f87b6b40a19f60a256b9f0070effe/$FILE/19+Apr+02.doc - Similar pages

[PDF]author/co-author index
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
... 2502 AL-SAMARRAI, H., 853 AL-SHAHRANI, S., 467, 3347 AL-SHAMMARI, K., 2718 AL-SHARAA,
K., 2203 AL-SYABI, H., 137 AL-THWAINI, Y., 146 AL-TURKI, MA, 1542 ALAGILI ...
www.iadr.com/Meetings/Past/wash-dc/00Windx.pdf - Similar pages

9 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS INVOLVED IN SEPT 11 ATTACKS PASSED THRU RP
... Aljedawi, Alj SM Al-Watban, Ahmed MA al-Eisa, Mohammed AA al-Zahrani, Abdulk Kareem
E. Khalil, Barrak MB al-Harbi, Mohammad FH Aldosari and Turki MA Alghadir. ...
www.newsflash.org/2002/04/hl/hl015543.htm - 5k - Cached - Similar pages

TGP SUBMITTER.com
... Qutotukuti. Badyocalaxohyvomose nackii kafoyvykona tydu kehguzyqag
qamu fubixom turki ma fybu laroi cissujyo kkelu? Mnilotaxotk ...
www.tgpsubmitter.com/tgp-submitter-ikbomy.html - 18k - Cached - Similar pages
6 posted on 01/22/2003 3:07:05 AM PST by Cindy
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To: Ranger
GOOGLE Search Term: "Mohamad Almasri"
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Mohamad+Almasri%22&btnG=Google+Search

SEARCH RESULTS:
Searched the web for "Mohamad Almasri".  Results 1 - 2 of 2. Search took 0.05 seconds.

List of Palestinian Martyrs
... 30 years old, Bethlehem. April 17, 2001 Mohamad Almasri. 23 years old, Gaza.
Basem Rafeek Zahran, 19 years old, Toulkarm. Hamza Khader Obeid, 15 years old,
Gaza. ...
www.palestineaffairscouncil.org/martyrs_2001.htm - 101k - Cached - Similar pages

[PDF]MINUTES
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Page 1. ú1ú July 17-19, 2002 MINUTES North Carolina Medical Board July
17-19, 2002 1201 Front Street, Suite 100 Raleigh, North Carolina Page 2. ...
www.ncmedboard.org/min702.pdf - Similar pages
7 posted on 01/22/2003 3:12:27 AM PST by Cindy
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Comment #8 Removed by Moderator

To: Badabing Badaboom; Mitchell; Howlin; Travis McGee
Were they white, right-wing Saudis?

Several agents, some in white biohazard suits, arrived Tuesday afternoon at the home at 1606 Doral Dr. in Fairway Isles, a gated community, neighbors said. Into the night, agents went in and out of the home, carrying plastic and paper bags, and dug up parts of the front yard.

9 posted on 01/22/2003 4:04:23 AM PST by piasa (Those who sit on fences soon cut off circulation to their family jewels.)
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To: Cindy
How come you can do in minutes what it takes the Eff-Bee-Eye two years to do?

Top Flight Police work those G-Men.
10 posted on 01/22/2003 4:13:09 AM PST by Leisler
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To: Badabing Badaboom
So as not to bring their fibers, etc IN to the house.
11 posted on 01/22/2003 4:14:13 AM PST by Leisler
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Comment #12 Removed by Moderator

To: Badabing Badaboom; Ranger; aristeides; Alamo-Girl; okie01; The Great Satan; Fred Mertz; keri; ...
I wonder why they were wearing biohazard suits?

My guess is this will be the smoking gun for Iraq--the anthrax. Note the connection here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/826855/posts?page=151#158

13 posted on 01/22/2003 4:24:47 AM PST by Lion's Cub
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To: Cindy
"al Masri" means "the Egyptian" in Arabic. Quite understandable that that should be part of Abu Hamza's name, since he comes from Egypt. But I was wondering, reading this article, why a Saudi family should have that name.
14 posted on 01/22/2003 4:38:08 AM PST by aristeides
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To: Ranger
Their son was taking flying lessons at the airport. They lived right around the corner from the Lantana airport.

I think they should watch every man named Akbar or Mohammed.... :)

15 posted on 01/22/2003 4:45:37 AM PST by Sungirl (War, children, it's just a shot away.............)
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To: 11B3; abwehr; angkor; Betty Jo; Black Jade; blam; boston_liberty; cake_crumb; cicero's_son; ...
maybe
16 posted on 01/22/2003 4:54:18 AM PST by Allan
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To: aristeides
"al Masri" means "the Egyptian" in Arabic.
Quite understandable that that should be part of Abu Hamza's name,
since he comes from Egypt.
But I was wondering, reading this article,
why a Saudi family should have that name.

Take out your telephone book
and see how many people have the surnames:
"English", "England", "Ireland", "Wales", "French"

Several hundred in mine.

The name tells you nothing.

17 posted on 01/22/2003 5:00:41 AM PST by Allan
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To: Lion's Cub
SEPTEMBER 2001 : (REPORTS OF IRAQI CHEMICAL WEAPONS EXERCISE) Iranian reports say 20 Iraqi soldiers based in Zaafarniyah region had died and 200 suffered severe breathing problems after taking part in chemical weapons exercise around June.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor

SEPTEMBER 3, 2001 : (UAE CONTACT NUMBER WAS USED TO TRANSFER MONEY TO BIN AL-SHIBH : ATTA, MOUSSAUI, AL-MARRI) The UAE number used by Atta and Ali Salem Kahlah Al-Marri was by an unidentified individual for a transfer of money to Ramzi Bin Al-Shibh, an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal indictment against Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker now in custody in Virginia. -court affidavit- according to a -document filed in federal court in Peoria, IL via Peoria's Journal Star - "FBI Agents Say Phone Records Link Illinois Student to Sept. 11 Terrorists, " By Mike Robinson, AP, Published: Mar 20, 2002

SEPTEMBER 4, 2001 (911 HIJACKER ATTA SENDS FEDEX, USES SAME UAE CONTACT NUMBER AS AL-MARRI) According to court documents, Sept. 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta sent a FedEx package from the US to the UAE on Sept. 4 and gave the UAE phone number, the same one used by Illinois student Ali Salem Kahlah al Marri, as a contact point for the recipient. - according to a -document filed in federal court in Peoria, IL via Peoria's Journal Star - "FBI Agents Say Phone Records Link Illinois Student to Sept. 11 Terrorists, " By Mike Robinson, AP, Published: Mar 20, 2002

SEPTEMBER 4, 2001 : (ISRAEL, SUICIDE BOMBING) Haneviim Street in Jerusalem; no Israelis killed.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2001 : (ATTA) Atta brought back a blue 1996 Chevrolet Corsica he had rented back on August 15th after driving it 1,915 miles. He extended the rental until Sept. 9, when it was brought back by al Shehhri. - LA Times but not from original site "Hijacker Shuttled in and out of U.S. on Visas issued by Consulates" By CRAIG PYES, PATRICK J. McDONNELL and WILLIAM C. REMPEL, Los AngelesTimes la-atta.html

SEPTEMBER 5, 2001 : (NORTHERN IRELAND SCHOOL BOMBING) Northern Ireland- blast at a school injures policemen. Three Protestant militants were arrested on suspicion of throwing a bomb on Wednesday that injured two police officers guarding Catholic children, aged between four and 11.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2001 : (ROYAL CAYMAN ISLANDS, AFGHANS) Mr. Banks passed the letter to Acting Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks on 6th September. There had been numerous complaints about the continued presence of the Afghans in the Cayman Islands, and Mr. Ebanks also considered this to be speculative.

SEPTEMBER 2001, a few days before 9/11: (DELAWARE, KHAN TOOK VIDEO FOOTAGE OF WTC, POWER PLANT INQUIRY IN NJ) Another case involves a Pakistani man who took video footage of the WTC a few days before the Sept. 11 attacks. Raza Nasir Khan was accused by federal agents in Wilmington, Del., of being an illegal immigrant who possessed firearms, documents show. A BATF affidavit alleged the Pakistani man requested maps of a hunting area near a rural Salem County, N.J., nuclear power plant and had a handheld global positioning system device. A search of his home found four long guns and one handgun. Khan told authorities he visited the WTC a few days before the attacks and shot videos, the documents said.The magistrate who ordered Khan held said she didn't see any connection to terrorism. In fact, few of the hundreds of pages of supporting documents provided to Congress mentioned a connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2001 : (ATTA, AL SHEHHI, LONGBOAT KEY, FL) Atta and al-Shehhi sighting, Longboat Key, FL, two blocks from where Bush would be staying on Sept 10, 2001 http://www.longboatobserver.com/showarticle.asp?ai=2172

SEPTEMBER 9, 2001 : (ISRAEL, SUICIDE BOMBING) Nahariya train station; three killed.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2001 : (ISRAEL, SUICIDE BOMBING) Car at Beit Lid Junction; no Israelis killed.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2001 Sunday : (FLORIDA : AL-SHEHHI CHECKS OUT OF THE PANTHER MOTEL IN DEERFIELD BEACH) : Al-Shehhi checks out of the Panther Motel without taking a three-ring binder full of handwritten notes, an English-German dictionary, an airplane fuel tester, a protractor, tote bag, aircraft manuals, maps and books, motel owner Surma said. Surma said that he kept many of the items from the room that had been occupied by Al-Shehhi - "More arrests coming, U.S. says : So far, 25 people arrested for immigration violations are being questioned by federal investigators in connection with Tuesday's attacks," © St. Petersburg Times, published September 16, 2001 - Information from Cox News Service, Associated Press, Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune was used in this report. cache http://www.sptimes.com/News/091601/Worldandnation/More_arrests_coming__.shtml. , current page , http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:HBTXAfMKTmsC:www.sptimes.com/News/091601/Worldandnation/More_arrests_coming__.shtml+%22Mohammed+Jaweed+Azmath+%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

SEPTEMBER 9, 2001 : (FLORIDA : AL SHEHHI RETURNS THE CAR ATTA RENTED) Al- Shehhi brought back the same blue 1996 Chevrolet Corsica Atta had extended the rental on a few days before to Warrick's in Pompano Beach, FL. Al-Shehhi brought it back with an additional 1,035 miles on it. - LA Times but not from original site "Hijacker Shuttled in and out of U.S. on Visas issued by Consulates" By CRAIG PYES, PATRICK J. McDONNELL and WILLIAM C. REMPEL, Los AngelesTimes

SEPTEMBER 9, 2001 : (ATTA, ALOMARI, MASSACHUSSETTS) Records show that Mohammed Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari rented a blue Nissan at an Alamo office in Boston on Sunday, Sept. 9. ny-usport182469421nov18.story-coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

SEPTEMBER 9, 2001 : Northern Alliance Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud is wounded in a suicide bombing, allegedly by al-Qaeda operatives. Massoud dies from his wounds several days later.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2001 : (MASSOUD ASSASSINATION) Two men posing as journalists, one carrying a passport in the name of Karim Touzani, detonated a hidden bomb as they interviewed Afghanistan's Northern Alliance leader Massoud. The legendary Afghan commander was mortally wounded. Two days later came the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

SEPTEMER 9, 2001: (FLORIDA : ALMASRI FAMILY HURRIEDLY LEAVES GREENACRES HOME)

18 posted on 01/22/2003 5:00:45 AM PST by piasa (Those who sit on fences soon cut off circulation to their family jewels.)
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To: Badabing Badaboom; John H K
Close enough to Greendale to spawn another media frenzy?

No. This won't interest the media unless someone reports
that Steve Hatfill was once spotted nearby.

19 posted on 01/22/2003 5:13:01 AM PST by Allan
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To: Allan
Looks like they may be on the trail of a terrorist support group/family.
20 posted on 01/22/2003 5:26:52 AM PST by blam
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