L.A. Holdups Linked to Islamic Group, Possible Terrorist Plot

By Amy Argetsinger and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 17, 2005; Page A05

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 16 -- A police probe that began with a series of gas station holdups here has broadened into an investigation of a possible terrorist plot and connections to a radical Islamic group believed to be operating in the California prison system, law enforcement sources said.

The crime spree -- which police said ended with the arrest of two local men last month -- drew the interest of counterterrorism officials when a search of one suspect's home turned up "jihadist" literature, bulletproof vests and a list of addresses for area synagogues, the Israeli consulate, National Guard centers and other sites.