An update of last week's story, where two men were arrested for driving around with a van full of explosives.
MM: Fortunately, local Florida media and bloggers have kept a close eye. And there have been some very newsworthy developments. The Tampa Tribune reports today that the FBI has raided a home in connection with the accused Pipe Bomb Boys:
The FBI searched a Temple Terrace home Saturday morning in connection with the two University of South Florida students jailed in South Carolina on charges of possessing a pipe bomb.
Authorities had a search warrant for 12402 Pampas Place, FBI special agent Dave Couvertier said. He would not say what authorities were looking for, what was removed or how the house is connected to the two students.
The house is owned by Noor and Ana Salhab, according to the Hillsborough County property appraiser’s Web site.
Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Tampa office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said late Saturday he and the family of one of the students, Youssef Megahed, were unaware of the search warrant.
Bedier spoke to Noor Salhab, who is a Realtor and owns the home. Salhab told Bedier the Pampas Place home has been for sale for a year. Bedier said Salhab said the house is rented to college students until it’s sold.
A friend of the other jailed student is a tenant of the house, Salhab told Bedier. Ahmed Mohamed was looking to move and was invited by the friend to move in. Salhab told Bedier he never met Mohamed.
Mohamed had moved some of his belongings to the house but never fully moved in or paid anything, Salhab told Bedier. Salhab told Bedier he didn’t know Mohamed had moved things in until the search warrant by the FBI.
Like the Ft Dix case, it seems that the would be bombers were targeting a military facility.
