Alert Issued for Terror Suspect in Houston Area

HOUSTON (AP) _ U.S. Homeland Security officials have asked Houston authorities to watch for a member of a Somalia-based terror group who may be coming to Texas through Mexico.

The federal agency last week issued an alert for a suspected member of the Al Shabaab group, which has declared allegiance to al-Qaida.

Harris County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Christina Garza said Wednesday she could not share details. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Lloyd Easterling says he “cannot discuss specific intelligence regarding individual groups.”

The alert was issued after federal prosecutors in San Antonio added new charges against a 24-year-old Somali man, Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, who had been picked up in Brownsville in 2008. He pleaded not guilty May 14 to raping and threatening to kill one of hundreds of immigrants he’s accused of smuggling into the U.S. Prosecutors say he has ties to terrorist groups.

More News