The AP reports that two men have been arrested in New York City on the eve of the Republican National Convention, for plotting explosive attacks on the subway system:

A U.S. citizen and a Pakistani national were arrested in an alleged plot to bomb a subway station in midtown Manhattan and possibly other locations around the city, police said Saturday.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the men were not thought to be connected to al-Qaida or any other international terrorist organization, although he said they expressed hatred for America. The arrests come two days before the start of the Republican National Convention, which is drawing tens of thousands of visitors into the city.

Though there was no clear tie to the convention, authorities moved to arrest the two men before it began, two law-enforcement sources told The Associated Press.

The police report that the men were apprehended before getting their hands on any actual explosives, which means that they had been tracked for some time before their arrest. They scouted out locations around the city, including the subway station nearest to Madison Square Garden, which is where the convention is being held. Not too surprisingly, the pair expressed hatred towards the United States, and also anti-Semitic statements as well. Color me shocked.

Expect to hear more about roundups in the next 24-48 hours such as this. The NYPD and FBI will pull the chains on all surveillance operations that they can ahead of the actual festivities this week, and the arrests may bring more actionable intelligence for later operations.

I may still look askance at the subway station, however ...

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is