9 Muslim Passengers Removed From Jet – Reagan Intl. Airport

Officials ordered nine Muslim passengers, including three young children, off an AirTran flight headed to Orlando from Reagan National Airport yesterday afternoon after two other passengers overheard what they thought was a suspicious remark.

Members of the party, all but one of them U.S.-born citizens who were headed to a religious retreat in Florida, were subsequently cleared for travel by FBI agents who characterized the incident as a misunderstanding, an airport official said. But the passengers said AirTran refused to rebook them, and they had to pay for seats on another carrier secured with help from the FBI.

Kashif Irfan, one of the removed passengers, said the incident began about 1 p.m. after his brother, Atif, and his brother’s wife wondered aloud about the safest place to sit on an airplane.

A source close to the investigation says Sobia was overheard talking about the safest place to sit on a plane if a bomb was on board.  An Airtran spokesman says what was allegedly heard by other passengers was enough to remove the entire Irfan family from the plane.

9 Muslim Passengers Removed From Jet – washingtonpost.com.

Smoke Bomb Goes Off in Phoenix Hotel – Weapons Found

This is an incident report and there is no information indicating that it is terrorism related. Additional details will be provided as they become available.

Update: Reports indicate the smoke bomb was military grade. Very little other information is being released.

Guests were evacuated Sunday night when a smoke bomb went off on the fourth floor of the Hilton Garden Inn, 1940 W. Pinnacle Peak Road in northwest Phoenix.

Officials found other weapons in the room where the bomb detonated, including guns and bullets, said Frank Salomon, deputy chief of public affairs for the Phoenix Fire Department.

Officials are still investigating who if anyone was in the room. The hotel evacuated about 35 rooms, containing roughly 60 people including guests and staff, said Salomon.

Phoenix Fire Department crews were on the scene. The call came in at about 7 p.m.

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