FBI arrests terror suspects in Miami

Officials said the group of men conspired to attack Chicago's Sears Tower.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
MIAMI -- FBI agents backed by state and local law enforcement cordoned off an area of Liberty City, Fla., and made several arrests on Thursday as part of what U.S. officials called a significant terror-related investigation.
There was no immediate threat to Miami, officials said. Formal details on the raid, which apparently focused on a warehouse, were to be released by U.S. officials at news conferences set for today in Miami and Washington.
About 20 FBI agents arrived on the scene. They were backed up by state and local police officers.
In a prepared statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami said the arrests were made "as part of an ongoing investigation into a terrorist-related matter.
"The individuals arrested posed no immediate threat to our community."
One law enforcement source said authorities arrested seven people who allegedly were conspiring to conduct attacks in the United States -- but that there was no immediate threat.
Five of those arrested are U.S. residents, one is a resident alien and one is an illegal alien, the source told the Miami Herald on condition of anonymity.
Citing an investigation before Thursday's raid, the source said the group talked about an attack on the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI building in Miami -- but that they had no "overt explosives or other things."
Undercover work
The group thought that they "were doing [the attacks] in conjunction with al-Qaida" but were really dealing with undercover law enforcement, the official said.
It was "pretty much talk; we were on top of them," the source said.
A man who lives across the street from the warehouse where the search warrant was served described the suspects as an unusual group of men, almost cultist, who wore military-style clothes and kept to themselves.
The 12 to 15 men in their 20s and 30s appeared to be from Haiti and from the Bahamas.
"I bet they've gone across the water," he said, believing some had escaped the federal agents.
"They would be gone all day and come back at night to the warehouse to sleep. They sold shampoo and hair grease on the street, just like the Ben Yahweh people," he said. "They were not threatening, but nobody messed with them."
FBI director Robert Mueller, appearing on CNN's Larry King Live program, said he couldn't comment in detail on the investigation, which he said involved both arrest warrants and search warrants.
Bush administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Liberty City operation was led by federal officers belonging to the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The task force in Miami generally consists of officers from federal and local law enforcement agencies including FBI, Homeland Security, Secret Service and Miami-Dade Police.
The Liberty City operation had ended by 7:45 p.m., and the cordon was removed.
Residents near the site of the Liberty City raid said officials showed them sketches of apparent suspects they were seeking.
Shaneah Walker, 16, lives in a housing project across from the warehouse. She said agents showed her eight pictures of males and that she recognized them all.
Resident Destiny Stuart said police came by around 3:30 p.m. to show her eight pictures of men. She said the men in the photos appeared to be in their early 30s.