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AWOL Soldier Nabbed w/"bomb-making materials" near Fort Hood TX

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Shared with the usual disclaimer....
A U.S. Army soldier was arrested after police found him in a motel room near Fort Hood, Texas, with possible "bomb-making materials," authorities said on Thursday.

FBI Special Agent Eric Vasys said the soldier, who was absent without leave from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was being held in a jail in the city of Killeen, Texas near Fort Hood, on an unrelated child pornography charge.

He was identified as Naser Jason Abdo, 21, originally from the Dallas area. He disappeared from Fort Campbell over the July 4 weekend, Fort Campbell base spokesman Bob Jenkins said. The spelling of his name was initially given by the FBI as Jason Abdo Nassar.

"Whatever threat Mr. Nassar posed yesterday or up until yesterday has been eliminated and mitigated, and there was nothing to indicate he was acting with anyone else," said FBI agent Vasys, who is based in San Antonio.

He did not elaborate on the apparent threat, or what charges Nassar might face. Vasys said he had no knowledge of any other arrests of soldiers.

Nassar was arrested around 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday after a "concerned citizen" reported that he had firearms and smokeless gunpowder in his motel room in Killeen, Vasys said.

"A search of his motel room revealed that he had some components which could be considered bomb-making materials," Vasys said.

In June, the U.S. military approved Nassar as a conscientious objector to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that status was put on hold after he was charged with child pornography in Kentucky ....
Source:  Reuters, 28 Jul 11


Federal authorities said they will likely charge an AWOL Army soldier today with having bomb-making components, including “a significant amount of gunpowder,” in his Killeen hotel room near Fort Hood.

Killeen police officers Wednesday arrested Pvt. Nasser Jason Abdo after learning that he was wanted by the Army on a child pornography charge, FBI spokesman Erik Vasys said.

Vasys said that through the Killeen police investigation, authorities found Abdo’s hotel room and materials that included the gunpowder and other items “that could be considered bomb-making components.”

He was arrested at America’s Best Value Inn on South Fort Hood Road, Killeen police said.

“We don’t know what his motivation was at this time,” Vasys said. “We are trying to learn all things about Mr. Abdo, about what his possible motivations and intentions were.”

Vasys added, “Any threat that was posed by this individual is now over.”

George Wright, an Army spokesman, said he was not aware of anything linking Abdo to a larger plot among soldiers against Army installations.

“I’m not seeing anything to that effect,” Wright said, stressing that he is not a spokesman for the ongoing FBI and Killeen Police Department investigation.

Abdo, whose hometown is Garland, entered the Army in March of 2009 and was assigned to the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell when he went AWOL on July 4, Wright said.

Fort Hood officials said security measures remained the same at the post today.
Source:  The Statesman (Austin TX), 28 Jul 11

This from a Fort Hood news release:
We are aware at this time that Killeen Police Department arrested a Soldier yesterday. The incident leading to the arrest did not occur on Fort Hood and the Soldier was not a Fort Hood based Soldier.

At this time, all inquiries in regard to the arrest should be directed to Carroll Smith, Killeen Police PIO, at (254) 501-8807 or csmith@ci.killeen.tx.us.

At this time, there has been no incident at Fort Hood. We continue our diligence in keeping our force protection at appropriate levels.

Nothing, as of this post, on the Killeen Police Department news page.

YouTube videos here (CNN) and here (Al Jazz Arabic) of interviews someone with the same name did last year saying he was a Muslim trying to gain conscientious objector status.

Edited to fix headline, add Reuters info
 
Links for more information:

Some of the latest....

Private 1st Class Naser J. Abdo, age 21, was arrested on July 27. The Killeen Police Department is handling all information requests. The incident occurred in the Killeen community. U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, the KPD, and the FBI are involved in the ongoing investigation.

Abdo is assigned to and currently AWOL from Company E, 1st Brigade Combat Team (Rear Provisional), 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. He entered service in March 2009 and is from Garland, Texas.

His military occupational specialty is 11B, Infantryman. He has been at Fort Campbell since July 2009.

In June 2010, he submitted a Conscientious Objector packet that was approved in May 2011. The discharge was placed on hold pending disposition of charges of possession of child pornography that were preferred on May 13. His Article 32 hearing was completed June 15, and the investigating officer recommended referral of the charge to trial by General Court-Martial. On July 4, the Soldier's status changed from present for duty to AWOL.

Since he is in the custody of civilian authorities, jurisdiction over any potential new charges is yet to be determined. If returned to military control, he may face additional charges including AWOL.
Source:  Fort Hood Press Center, 28 Jul 11

Federal charges are expected to be filed against an AWOL Fort Campbell soldier today in connection with possession of bomb-making material following his arrest in Killeen Wednesday.

Pfc. Nassar Jason Abdo, 21, was apprehended by the Killeen Police Department, according to federal investigators, who became involved after his arrest.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Erik Vasys said he anticipates Abdo will be charged with possession of bomb-making materials later today.

Vasys said gunpowder was one of the components found in Abdo's possession.

Abdo went AWOL on July 4 from Fort Campbell, Ky. after facing trial by general court-martial on child pornography charges.

Troy Roland, an Army spokesperson at the Pentagon, said Abdo submitted a conscientious objector packet but his discharge request had been put on hold.

An Article 32 hearing was held on June 15 and the investigating officers recommended Abdo face general court-martial.

Roland did not know when the court-martial was scheduled.

A tip from a Killeen dealer may have led to Abdo's arrest. Greg Ebert, a Guns Galore clerk and retired sergeant with the Killeen Police Department, said Thursday he reported a suspicious customer to the department Tuesday evening.

A 21-year-old customer arrived at the shop in a taxi at 1 p.m. Tuesday and purchased an unusually large amount of smokeless gunpowder, Ebert said, which can be used as an explosive.

Ebert said the young man was rude to staff and through a series of questions led them to believe that he was largely unfamiliar with what he was buying.

"He randomly selected six canisters of smokeless powder, a mix of fast and slow," Ebert said. Combined powders with different burning rates "can be highly volatile," he said.

In addition to the six pounds of smokeless powder, Ebert said, the customer also purchased three boxes of shotgun shells and an extra magazine for a pistol ....
Source:  Killeen Daily Herald, 28 Jul 11

An AWOL Muslim soldier who had been granted conscientious objector status earlier this year was arrested after bomb-making materials were found in his motel room near Fort Hood, the same Texas Army post where 13 people were killed in a 2009 shooting rampage blamed on an Army psychiatrist, an FBI spokesman said Thursday.

Killeen police arrested Pfc. Naser Abdo, 21, on Wednesday and agents found firearms and "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder," in his motel room, said FBI spokesman Erik Vasys.

A clerk at the gun store where the 2009 Fort Hood shootings suspect bought a pistol used in the attack told The Associated Press on Thursday that he alerted police after a man bought weapons and gunpowder there this week.

Greg Ebert said the man arrived at Guns Galore LLC by taxi Tuesday and bought 6 pounds of smokeless gunpowder, three boxes of shotgun ammunition and a magazine for a semi-automatic pistol, paying about $250. Ebert said he became concerned when the man asked questions indicating he didn't know much about the items.

"(We) felt uncomfortable with his overall demeanor and the fact he didn't know what the hell he was buying," Ebert said. "I thought it prudent to contact the local authorities, which I did."

Killeen police wouldn't immediately confirm Abdo was the buyer, but a U.S. official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk publicly about the case, confirms Abdo bought weapons at a Killeen gun shop ....
Source:  Associated Press, 28 Jul 11

A U.S. Army soldier was arrested after police found him in a motel room near Fort Hood, Texas, with possible "bomb-making materials," authorities said on Thursday.

FBI Special Agent Eric Vasys said the soldier, who was absent without leave from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was being held in a jail in the city of Killeen, Texas near Fort Hood, on an unrelated child pornography charge.

He was identified as Naser Jason Abdo, 21, originally from the Dallas area. He disappeared from Fort Campbell over the July 4 weekend, Fort Campbell base spokesman Bob Jenkins said. The spelling of his name was initially given by the FBI as Jason Abdo Nassar.

"Whatever threat Mr. Nassar posed yesterday or up until yesterday has been eliminated and mitigated, and there was nothing to indicate he was acting with anyone else," said FBI agent Vasys, who is based in San Antonio.

He did not elaborate on the apparent threat, or what charges Nassar might face. Vasys said he had no knowledge of any other arrests of soldiers.

Nassar was arrested around 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday after a "concerned citizen" reported that he had firearms and smokeless gunpowder in his motel room in Killeen, Vasys said.

"A search of his motel room revealed that he had some components which could be considered bomb-making materials," Vasys said.

In June, the U.S. military approved Nassar as a conscientious objector to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that status was put on hold after he was charged with child pornography in Kentucky ....
Source:  Reuters, 28 Jul 11

An Awol US soldier arrested in Texas will face federal charges after bomb-making materials were found in his motel room, the FBI has said.

Pfc Naser Abdo, 21, was arrested in the town of Killeen and admits planning an attack on the nearby US Army base at Fort Hood, officials reportedly said.

The Muslim infantry soldier allegedly told police officers he was near the base to "get even", US media said.

Fort Hood was the scene of a gun rampage in 2009 that claimed 13 lives.

Mr Abdo, who is currently being held on an unrelated child pornography charge in Killeen, refused to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan from Fort Campbell military base in Kentucky before going missing, FBI agent Eric Vasys said.

A statement on the Fort Hood website acknowledged Mr Abdo's arrest, saying he was not taken into custody at Fort Hood nor was he a Fort Hood-based soldier ....
Source:  BBC, 28 Jul 11
 
Several other Ft Campbell soldiers who are associates of Abdo are also in custody. All are muslims. Abdo was granted CO status because he couldnt kill other muslims.But killing American soldiers is ok ?  :eek:
 
Did an alert retired cop just thwart another Fort Hood massacre?
Los Angeles Times / July 28, 2011
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/07/fort-hood-.html
---
Following a tip from a suspicious retired policeman now working at a local gun shop...
---
---
"Thanks to quick action by a Texas gun dealer in alerting local police to a suspicious character," Rep. John Carter said today, "and a prompt and vigorous response by the Killeen Police Department, we may well have averted a repeat of the tragic 2009 radical Islamic terror attack on our nation's largest military installation."
                                      ________________________________

  :salute:
 
An AWOL soldier accused of plotting an attack on Fort Hood with a bomb in a backpack was defiant during his first court appearance on Friday, yelling out the name of the Army psychiatrist blamed in the 2009 deadly shooting rampage at the same post.  Federal prosecutors charged Pfc. Naser Abdo, 21, with possessing an illegal firearm, two days after he was arrested. Authorities say they found weapons stashed in a motel room where he was staying about 3 miles from Fort Hood’s main gate.  Abdo, who had requested conscientious objector status because his Muslim beliefs prevented him from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, refused to stand up when asked to in court. As he left the room, he yelled: “Nidal Hasan Fort Hood 2009.”  Hasan, an Army major, is charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood in the worst mass shooting ever on a U.S. military installation. He was arraigned last week on those charges ....
Source:  Marine Corps Times, 29 Jul 11
 
In time Abdo will have his day in court. What mystifies me is how and where these soldiers are converted to islam and for all intents are radicalized. That would take some time I would think.
I cant think of another army that has had this many cases of muslim soldiers turning on their compatriots.
 
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