Islamist terror will return to American shores. Frankly, and I’ve stated this repeatedly, I’m surprised that it hasn’t already. When it finally does, it may be in our malls, our nightclubs, our restaurants, or among the sites on a recently discovered list of possible targets in the Los Angeles area. Sadly, along with this list comes the not-too-shocking revelation that the next attack may well have a home-grown element to it.
Officials are investigating whether an alleged terrorist plot to attack Los Angeles-area targets on Sept. 11 or Jewish holidays was organized by members of a militant Islamic state prison gang, a top law enforcement official said Wednesday.
Federal and local counterterrorism officials are examining possible ties between a Pakistani man arrested in Los Angeles and a prison gang known as Jamat Ul-Islam Is Saheeh, said George Gascon, assistant chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Investigators believe Hammad Riaz Samana, who was arrested Aug. 2, has communicated with former or current inmates at California State Prison, Sacramento, involved with the gang, Gascon said.
Samana’s arrest followed an investigation in which authorities found what they believe was a terrorist target list after they arrested two men on suspicion of a series of gas station robberies in Los Angeles County. That list included three National Guard facilities, the Israeli Consulate and several synagogues.
Gascon said authorities believe the attacks were to be carried out on Sept. 11, the Jewish High Holidays or other dates, and warned the consulate and guard that their buildings were on the list.
[…]
The list was found at the apartment of Levar Haney Washington, 25, of Los Angeles. Washington and Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21 were arrested July 5 and have pleaded not guilty to robbery charges. They have not been charged in the terrorism probe.
[…]
Washington was previously an inmate at the prison outside Sacramento and investigators are examining whether the suspected plot was organized by two inmates there: Peter Martinez, 36, who is serving a 40-year sentence for second-degree murder, and cellmate Kevin James, 29.
Investigators have briefed prison officials around California and are trying to determine whether other inmates were involved, Gascon said.
It was unclear what led authorities from Washington and Patterson to Samana.
The three men attended the same mosque in Inglewood, though they were not seen meeting as a group, according to Arshed Quazi, president of the Jamat-E-Masijidul Islam mosque.
Samana attended the mosque after arriving in Los Angeles several years ago, Quazi said. He is from the Karachi area of Pakistan and was studying at Santa Monica College.
Wait, out of the obligation of tradition, we have to include the following:
“He’s such a nice kid … I’m shocked,” said Quazi, adding that Samana stayed with his family across the street from the mosque.
They always are. I’m sure Mohhamed Atta would have gladly held a World Trade Center elevator door open for a late-arriving passenger, had he only arrived at the building through one of the regular entrances and with far less force and jet fuel. Oh yeah, and innocent victims.