Storage Sites Searched for Bomb Materials In Terror Probe

Detectives were combing Queens storage facilities on Monday for stockpiled explosive chemicals that Al Qaeda terror thugs planned to use to bomb New York,according to the New York Daily News.

At the same time, the Daily News has learned that prime terror suspect Najibullah Zazi has confessed he was a jihadist hell-bent on murderous mayhem, the sources said.

NYPD investigators, in coordination with the FBI, hit chemical and fertilizer companies looking for customers who bought bulk and paid cash – and they were also showing up at storage centers in Long Island City.

Investigators believe they were going to use the units to mix chemicals for explosives.

“They’re full on, and still going full bore,” a counterterror official said of the bomb hunt, according to the report.

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4 Tons of Fertilizer Stolen In Frederick Maryland

UPDATE: The Frederick Police Department says they have surveillance tape of the theft and believe a white man between the ages of 45 and 50 may be the suspect.

Investigators believe the theft occurred on Sunday afternoon.

The contents of the fertilizer have the police concerned that it could be used for making a bomb.

The thief stole two types of fertilizer: Triple 19 and Urea.  Police say the Urea is more dangerous of the two because it contains hydrogen.

“We want to make sure that we covered all bases.  We want to make sure that the Frederick community understands that we are following through as far as we can possible go with FBI and other agencies,” said Lt. Clark Pennington with the Frederick Police Department.

Frederick police say four tons of fertilizer have been stolen from a farm supply store.

A store representative told police that 2,000 pounds of urea and 6,000 pounds of other fertilizer are missing. The fertilizer was in white 50-pound bags with a company logo.

Lt. Clark Pennington says they don’t know what the motive behind the theft is, but they have notified the Maryland Coordination Analysis Center, which alerts all federal agencies of the theft.

DHS to Regulate Buying and Selling Ammonium Nitrate

In an effort to prevent future terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security has announced new plans to regulate the selling and purchasing of ammonium nitrate. The widely used fertilizer was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 186 people and was the subject of a 2006 ABC News investigative report that found lethal quantities of the fertilizer was frighteningly easy to obtain.

“Terrorist organizations have and will continue to use explosives, including [ammonium nitrate]-based explosive, in future terrorist attacks,” the amendment says, explaining that the availability of bags of the fertilizer around the country means the potentially deadly chemical could end up in the hands of terrorists.

Source

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Retailers Asked To Report Missing or Stolen Fertilizer

The Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association has been advised to keep their eyes open for anything suspicious, or out of the ordinary related to missing or stolen fertilizer.

The FBI informed the IFAC that several lawn and garden facilities, as well as agriculture retail facilities in the Midwest have experienced the theft of ammonium nitrate fertilizers.

No thefts have been reported yet in Illinois.

If you have any information, or you are a retailer that has experienced theft of fertilizer, please contact the FBI regardless of how large or small the theft may have been.

FBI Tips

Homeland Security Will Track Fertilizer Buyers

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed new regulations that would make it harder to buy ammonium nitrate — an agricultural fertilizer that can be used as a bomb-making ingredient.

In a notice issued late last month, the department proposed new rules that would tighten restrictions on the sale of ammonium nitrate. Among other things, the regulations would require prospective buyers to apply for registration numbers from Homeland Security; the department will also run terrorist screening database checks on all prospective registrants.

The proposed rules (read here) will bring regulations in line with a recent amendment to the Homeland Security Act. The amendment requires the department to “regulate the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate by an ammonium nitrate facility to prevent the misappropriation or use of ammonium nitrate in an act of terrorism.”

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New Fertilizer To Foil Bomb-makers

Industrial manufacturer Honeywell said Tuesday it has developed a new nitrogen-based fertilizer that is difficult to ignite — a discovery that could reduce criminals’ ability to make explosives used in major terrorist attacks like the Oklahoma City bombing. Read more