Mass. Police Chief On Lookout For Iraqi Terrorists By David McLaughlin, The Boston Herald
Ashland, Mass. police Chief Roy Melnick warned his officers in May their town could be targeted by Iraqi terrorists looking to exact revenge for an investigation he worked on while he was in Baghdad last year.
In the memo obtained by the MetroWest Daily News, Melnick directs police officers to be watchful for “male Arabs who suddenly appear in Ashland.”
“I will make you aware of additional information when received for your own safety since you may have to respond to a real terrorist threat in Ashland soon,” he wrote.
The chief, who trained Iraqi police officers for about three months last fall, declined comment on the one-page memo written May 13.
A spokeswoman for the state Executive Office of Public Safety said Secretary Edward Flynn did not know about the memo or Melnick’s dire warning.
“We don’t have any reason at this point to suspect that the average person in Ashland is being put at risk,” spokeswoman Katie Ford said.
The Boston office of the FBI declined comment.
In the memo, Melnick said he had worked on several major investigations in Iraq and continued to work a case involving then-Deputy Minister of Interior Ahmed Ebrahim Kadhem after he returned home. That case eventually led to Kadhem being removed from power, he said, adding he feared the ex-official with a penchant for torture would seek revenge.
“This story will break nationwide in the next couple of weeks. When this occurs, it is my belief that the former Deputy Minister may send several Iraqi terrorists to Ashland for revenge,” he wrote.