7 arrested in alleged Chicago, Miami plot
MIAMI, June 23 (UPI) -- Seven terrorism suspects were held in Miami Friday in an alleged plot against Chicago's Sears Tower and other sites.
Miami's FBI offices also were mentioned as possible targets.
CNN said the suspects believed they were dealing with an al-Qaida operative who actually was a government informant.
Some of the suspects lived in a warehouse in Miami's Liberty City, the Miami Herald said, where raids turned up no guns or explosives.
Authorities seemed to discount the severity of the situation and neither Chicago nor Miami went on special alert.
A senior federal law officer in Chicago told the Chicago Tribune the suspects had "aspirations" but "no means" to attack the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States, or other buildings.
While one officers identified the men as radical muslims, senior federal sources said there was no connection to al-Qaida.
U.S. using bank data to track terrorists
WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) -- Without the knowledge of many banks, the U.S. government reportedly has long used confidential banking data to track terrorism suspects.
The clandestine monitoring of a vast database of worldwide money transfers, run by the Treasury Department, is considered a potent weapon against terrorism, the Los Angeles Times said Friday.
Government officials criticized the Times story partly because, they say, it gives terrorist organizations information of a secret U.S. operation.
The Treasury Department began the monitoring after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as the government stepped up domestic intelligence gathering to avoid further attacks. The money tracking, as well as other programs such as communications monitoring, have raised concerns about intrusions on privacy.
Senior Iraqi al-Qaida member detained
BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 23 (UPI) -- A senior al-Qaida member in Iraq has been captured, five days after the death of leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, reports say.
The U.S. military did not identify the man who was detained on Monday, CNN said Friday.
A military statement said the man detained with other terrorist suspects southwest of Baquba, near al-Zarqawi's safehouse, reportedly was a senior al-Qaida cell leader in central Iraq.
That raid came two days after another senior member, Mansur Sulayman Mansur Khalif, died in a coalition air strike, as had al-Zarqawi.
4 die in southern Iraq bombing
BASRA, Iraq, June 23 (UPI) -- At least four people died in a bomb attack in southern Iraq Friday and an expanded curfew went into effect in Baghdad.
Fourteen others were hurt in the bombing at Basra where a state of emergency already was in effect because of escalating violence, the BBC said.
The blast occurred as people lined up for fuel at a gas station in the city, home to about 8,000 British troops. All of the dead were civilians, while two police officers were listed among the wounded.
Meanwhile, state TV reported the government has imposed a Baghdad curfew from 2 p.m.to 6 p.m., local time. Baghdad is normally under curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
In other news, Iraq planned to release some 500 detainees from Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad on Friday to promote national reconciliation.
USDA computer compromised
WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Agriculture Department says personal data for 26,000 people may have been compromised in its computer system.
The agency says a hacker breached the system, gaining information on employees, retirees and contractors, the Washington Post reported.
The information is used for the department's badges for people living in the Washington, D.C., area only. It includes names, Social Security numbers, pictures and other information.
