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coco
15-02-2010, 03:08 PM
http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Possible-terror-incident-in-Fort-Worth-84316367.html

Two in custody after Fort Worth bomb scare

by MONIKA DIAZ and REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA-TV

Posted on February 13, 2010 at 7:15 PM

Updated today at 2:17 AM


FORT WORTH — Southeast Loop 820 and East Rosedale Street in Fort Worth were reopened early Sunday morning after being shut down for five hours overnight.

The Fort Worth bomb squad detonated four charges that were found in a pickup truck that spun out on a slick road during a police pursuit.

Two people are in custody, and one of them — Kimberly Suzanne Al-Homsi — is well-known to police and federal agents.

The Fort Worth bomb squad worked through the evening on the threat. They sent a robot to check a possible explosive device inside the truck.

Investigators recovered a toy gun and three pipe-like items containing suspicious material.

Greta Willis Moss and other neighborhood residents were on alert. "Been here 27 years," she said. "This is just something wrong; we've never seen anything like this before."

It all started in Arlington as a road rage incident in the 1000 block of West Abrams Street, police said.

"Someone called to say that there was a person in another vehicle that pointed a weapon at them," said Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Ellis Richard. "Officers found that vehicle and tried to conduct a stop. That vehicle did not stop, and as a result, the officers conducted a pursuit."

The chase continued for 20 minutes. It came to an end when the truck spun out on Rosedale at around 5:30 p.m.

Officers took two people into custody: Kimberly Suzanne Al-Homsi, 45, — who is also known as Asma Al-Homsi — and Yasinul Alan Ansari, 18. They reportedly told police there was an "incendiary device" in the vehicle.

Al-Homsi was charged with evading arrest, two counts of terroristic threats, and also a prohibited weapons count. Both remained in custody Sunday without bond due to federal holds.

News 8 has learned that Al-Homsi has been under government surveillance and was on the federal "no-fly" list after being involved in a road rage incident in December, 2005.

At that time, she held up an inert grenade and threatened another motorist. The Garland bomb squad found ammunition in her car.

In 2007, the FBI and the Dallas Police Department called Al-Homsi a possible danger. Police say she has explosives and sniper training.

In an exclusive interview with News 8 in 2007, Al-Homsi said she disagreed with U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Arlington police are working with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the current case.

coco
15-02-2010, 03:13 PM
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-arlsuspects_15met.ART.State.Edition1.4b864c4.html

Arlington woman arrested on Loop 820 known to terrorism investigators

08:50 AM CST on Monday, February 15, 2010

By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
teiserer@dallasnews.com

Kimberly "Asma" Al-Homsi, who has repeatedly been the subject of interest by federal anti-terrorism authorities, is expected to face a federal explosives charge after the latest incident in Arlington on Saturday.

She and a man were arrested after authorities found an incendiary device in their vehicle following a police pursuit Saturday evening.

Al-Homsi, 45, and Yasinul Alan Ansari, 18, both remain in the Arlington city jail. Bail has been set at $210,000 for Al-Homsi and $100,000 for Ansari.

ATF Dallas spokesman Thomas Crowley said Sunday that officials plan to file a complaint on the pair in federal court in Fort Worth on Tuesday. "It's an ongoing federal investigation," he said. "We can't put out any description [of the device] until after the complaint is filed."

Al-Homsi also faces one count of evading arrest, two counts of making a terroristic threat and one count of possessing a prohibited weapon. Ansari faces one count of possessing a prohibited weapon.

Arlington police, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI are investigating.

The latest incident surrounding Al-Homsi's activities began about 5 p.m. Saturday after a motorist called 911 from State Highway 360 in Arlington to report that someone had pointed a weapon at him in an apparent road-rage incident on West Abram Street.

Police tried to pull the pickup over, but the driver did not stop. The pursuit ended in Fort Worth after the truck carrying the pair hit ice at Rosedale Street near Loop 820. One of the pair told officers there was an "incendiary device" in the truck, authorities have said.

Police closed Loop 820 at Rosedale for nearly seven hours while they investigated. Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution. The road reopened about midnight.

Al-Homsi's previous encounters with authorities could best be described as bumbling.

In 2005, Al-Homsi waved a fake grenade at a motorist on Central Expressway during a road-rage incident. She was put on probation for having a hoax bomb.

That probation was revoked after July 2007, when she was arrested after a six-hour police standoff at her Arlington home and accused of having a pipe fashioned into an illegal firearm. Police also found black powder, shotgun shells, pipes and putty.

"I'm not a bad person, but they're trying to make me look like this vicious, evil person who wants to do harm," she told The News after her 2007 arrest.

On several occasions, also in 2007, Al-Homsi and the friend were seen conducting what appeared to be surveillance at Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. They were clad in traditional Muslim garb with camouflage pants underneath during at least one of the incidents.

Al-Homsi has also claimed a friendship with Wadih el Hage, a former Arlington resident and former personal secretary of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He received a life sentence for his part in a bombing conspiracy.

Al-Homsi has contended that she was being harassed because of stereotypes about her religion. She has denied having any links to terrorism.

Al-Homsi, now shown in a mug shot with her head shaved bald, is thought to have explosives training, according to a 2007 intelligence briefing from Dallas police.