New York – FBI – NYPD Raid Homes In Queens In Terrorism Probe

New York – Law enforcement agents have raided residences in New York City as part of a terrorism investigation, and are preparing to brief Congress about the investigation.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne confirms that searches were conducted in the borough of Queens on Monday by agents of a joint terrorism task force. He would not discuss the matter further.

Two U.S. intelligence officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly, said the target of any purported attack — or who would carry it out — remained unclear.

Authorities have not found any weapons ready for use — such as a bomb — that would indicate an attack was imminent, they said. Nevertheless, one of the officials called the threat very real and emphasized the urgency of the threat.

Separately, federal authorities planned to brief senior lawmakers in Congress on the case later Monday.

**UPDATE** 3:58 PM
VIN News has learned that the raids were conducted over night and this is part of an ongoing investigation with a possible link to a previous active case. The Federal Gov. remains tight-lipped for now on any details.

**UPDATE** 4:07 PM
According to NY1 The FBI says several criminal search warrants were issued but no arrests have been made at this time.

**UPDATE** 5:05 PM
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who was briefed by FBI officials, said he couldn’t discuss much of the case because many of the details were still classified.

”There was nothing imminent, and they are very good now at tracking potentially dangerous actions and this was preventive,” Schumer said. He added that the law enforcement action was unrelated to President Barack Obama’s visit Monday to New York.

**UPDATE** 9:29 PM
According to ABC sources, agents had been tracking one man with alleged ties to Al Qaeda.

That unnamed man had just returned to the U.S. from visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan.