Editor’s Note: Fred Burton, widely considered to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on terrorists and terrorist organizations began his law enforcement career as a cop in Montgomery County, Maryland. Now VP of counterterrorism for the private intelligence firm STRATFOR, Burton recently told PoliceOne that while most police officers know where the “high-value targets” are in their patrol area — the power plants, transportation facilities, malls, hospitals, sports complexes, rail yards, radio towers, and public buildings — they should also get to know the locations of the synagogues in their area of responsibility, as well as the mosques. This story, as well as this report from Los Angeles, nails home that point. Read the full conversation with Burton here.
By Ben Schmitt, Niraj Warikoo and Robin Erb
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT — The leader of what federal authorities describe as a fundamentalist group was shot and killed today during a series of raids in Dearborn and Detroit that resulted in 10 arrests.
Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53, also known as Christopher Thomas, was gunned down after refusing to surrender and opening fire when the FBI raided one of the locations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The eleven defendants are members of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years and known to be armed,” according to a joint statement from the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office.
An FBI dog was also killed during one of the raids.
Abdullah and 10 others were charged in a complaint with conspiracy to commit several federal felony crimes, including illegal possession and sale of firearms and theft from interstate shipments.
Abdullah was the leader of a group which calls itself “Ummah, a group of mostly African-American converts to Islam, which seeks to establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United States,” the press release states.
“The Ummah is ruled by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rapp Brown, who is serving a state sentence… for the murder of two police officers in Georgia.”
The case was worked by the FBI, Detroit Police, U.S. Attorney’s Office and Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The raids took place at at least two locations today – a trucking business in Dearborn and a home in Detroit.
Three of the suspects are expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Detroit today.
Detroit Police spokesman John Roach and Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad declined to comment. Both said the matter was being handled by FBI.
Copyright 2009 Detroit Free Press