Al Qaeda Cell on the Loose in America?

Eli Lake has some disturbing details evolving out of the Scotland jihadi plot.

Al Qaeda Cell May Be Loose in U.S., British Plot Hints

WASHINGTON — As an American-born spokesman for Al Qaeda threatens to blow up American embassies abroad, intelligence gleaned from last month's British "doctors plot" of car bombers suggests that a Qaeda cell is on the loose in the American homeland.

E-mail addresses for American individuals were found on the same password-protected e-mail chains used by the United Kingdom plotters to communicate with Qaeda handlers in Europe, a counterterrorism official told The New York Sun yesterday. The American and German intelligence community now believe the secure e-mail chains used in the United Kingdom plot have provided a window into an operational Qaeda network in several countries.

"Because of the London and Glasgow plot, we now know communications have been made from Al Qaeda to operatives in the United States," the counterterrorism official said on condition of anonymity. "This plot helps to connect a lot of stuff. We have seen money moving a lot through hawala networks and other illicit finance as well." But this source was careful to say that at this point no specific information, such as names, targets or a timeline, was known about any particular plot on American soil. The e-mail addresses that are linked to Americans were pseudonyms

Perhaps this is just a coincidence, but one might hope the authorities dig a little deeper into these mysterious men arrested over the weekend in a scandalously underreported story.

Authorities demolished a suspicious item found in a car that led police to close a highway outside Charleston Saturday night.

WIS News 10 spoke with officials at the Berkeley County Detention Center who said 24-year-old Ahmed Mohamed and 21-year-old Yousef Megahed, the occupants of the car, are still in police custody.

So far they have only been charged with possession of explosive devices, but the FBI is working to see if more crimes have been committed.

The Berkeley County Sheriff's Department tells WIS News 10 the two men are not US citizens.

Bomb squad technicians demolished an item found in the car at 2:45am Sunday. It made a loud bang, similar to a firecracker.

Seems to me two guys names Ahmed and Mohamed who are not U.S. citizens driving around with explosives rates a little bit more attention.

Dan Riehl has been all over this, and has numerous updates.

UPDATE: They're students at the University of South Florida.

Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights organization for Muslims, said the men arrested are Youseff Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24 - two University of South Florida students.

Family members told Bedier they think the materials were leftover fireworks Megahed kept in his trunk since July 4.

“Both of them are really naïve kids,” Bedier said.

Please. USF just so happens to be where terror supporter Sami al-Arian was a professor.

All just coincidental, I'm sure.