Caswell Co. Residents 'Shocked' to Learn of Terrorist Training

Comment: Scary, our NC neighbor, just down the road from Pittsylvania County! To think that an uranium mining and milling could be so close to a terrorist activities, which is not the first time NC had trouble with terrorist groups, happen back in 2001 in Wake County! Please read both articles listed below!

By Roxanna Haynes FOX8 News
July 28, 2009

CASWELL COUNTY, N.C. - Residents were shocked Monday when they learned that a group of North Carolina men charged with terrorism conspiracy had allegedly trained on property nearby.

Caswell County, a rural area of about 20,000 residents in the eastern Piedmont, is popular among hunters because of its remote areas and wide-open spaces. Residents like it for its relaxed, country-living atmosphere.

"It makes me feel a little scared," said resident Deanna Ballard after federal authorities announced that seven men had been charged with plotting "violent jihad." On Tuesday, authorities said they believe an eighth suspect is in Pakistan.

Investigators believe the men had used private property in Caswell County to train for their terrorist missions.

"For such a small town, it's very, sort of, unexpected," said Carolyn Poteat.

"I was shocked," said another resident, Thomas Lee. "Mostly everybody around here knows everybody and, see, that's the thing that got me. I don't know how they got in here without anyone ever suspecting."

Investigators won't say exactly where, but they do say Daniel Boyd -- the alleged ringleader -- stockpiled military-style weapons and trained at a rural site.

"People aren't aware. You should have though since 9/11, people would be more aware of this kind of thing," said Ballard.

http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-caswell-terrorist-reax-090728,0,3874650.story

Feds search for 8th suspect

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1624612.html

Sarah Ovaska, Staff Writer

An unnamed eighth member of a suspected North Carolina-based terrorism group is at large and wanted by federal authorities, U.S. Attorney George Holding said early this afternoon.
The individual, whose name was redacted from an indictment made public yesterday, doesn't appear to pose a danger to the larger public, said Holding, the head of the Raleigh-based federal prosecutor's office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

"We do not believe that this defendant poses a threat to anyone in the area," Holding said.

FBI agents are actively looking to take the person into custody. Holding would not name the person, nor describe his or her involvement beyond the indictment. That individual is described as a U.S. citizen and North Carolina resident who traveled to Pakistan in October 2008 to participate in violent jihad.

Seven other men were arrested and charged yesterday with plotting to kill themselves and others in the name of Islam as part of a three-year investigation by the FBI.

Those arrested Monday include Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, who was considered the ringleader of the group, and who fought with Afghan Muslims against the Soviets; Hysen Sherifi, 24; Anes Subasic, 33; Zakariya Boyd, 20, and Dylan Boyd, 22; Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22; and Ziyad Yaghi, a 21-year-old Cary High School graduate.

Holding added that this week's indictments and charges have no bearing on the larger Muslim community in the Triangle.

"No one should take this as an indictment of the Muslim community," Holding said.

The named suspects are expected to be in court later this week for detention hearings.