US Jewish Synagogue Hostage Situation... Hostage Taker Demands Release of "Lady Al-Qaeda"

Standoff with FBI and Police SWAT After Detaining 4 People

A hostage situation occurred on the 15th (local time) at a Jewish synagogue in Collierville, Texas, USA, prompting the deployment of a police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Four people, including a rabbi, were taken hostage at a Jewish synagogue in Texas, USA, prompting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and police SWAT teams to launch a response operation.

According to foreign media including the AP on the 15th (local time), law enforcement authorities including the Collville Police in Texas are currently confronting the hostage-taker at a Jewish synagogue northeast of Fort Worth where the hostage situation occurred.

The hostage-taker is demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist linked to al-Qaeda, and is reported to have taken at least four hostages, including a Jewish religious leader, a rabbi.

Siddiqui is a female scientist known as the "Lady al-Qaeda." She was captured in Afghanistan in 2008 while in possession of sodium cyanide and papers detailing terrorist plans.

She was tried in the United States on charges of attempting to attack and kill Americans in Afghanistan. In 2010, she was sentenced to 86 years in prison and is currently incarcerated in a Texas prison.

President Joe Biden was briefed urgently on the hostage situation, and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki explained that the national security team is in contact with federal law enforcement agencies. Police have evacuated residents near the synagogue.

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