Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Terrorist Threat To Fort Huachuca, Unfounded

FBI: Widely Reported Terrorist Threat To Fort Huachuca Unfounded

National reports on terrorists crossing the border with the help of Mexican drug smugglers to attack the Army post in Sierra Vista are incorrect

By Aaron Mackey
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona
Published: 11.26.2007
AzStarNet

A plot by dozens of foreign terrorists who purportedly planned to attack Fort Huachuca with rocket propelled grenades and mines has proved unfounded, an FBI spokesman said Monday.

The threat, detailed by a local television station and The Washington Times after information was recently leaked to them, involved Iraqi and Afghan terrorists working with a Mexican drug cartel to smuggle themselves and weapons across the U.S. border.

The terrorists reportedly were targeting Fort Huachuca, home of the Army’s intelligence center, which trains soldiers in interrogation and is home to a testing facility for sensitive electronic equipment.

The intelligence advisory compiled by several federal agencies said the attack was scheduled to occur in May. The information was passed on to Fort Huachuca commanders, who changed security practices in an effort to avoid an attack.

But the attack never occurred and was the result of bad information, said Manuel Johnson, an FBI spokesman based in Phoenix.

“A thorough investigation was conducted and there is no evidence showing that the threat was credible,” he said.

No comments: