James Norton: “I include for the Record an article on al Qaeda seeking ties to local gangs that appeared in the Washington Times. A top…”

“I include for the Record an article on al Qaeda seeking ties to local gangs that appeared in the Washington Times. A top al Qaeda lieutenant has met with leaders of a violent Salvadoran criminal gang with roots in Mexico and the United States--including a stronghold in the Washington area--in an effort by the terrorist network to seek help infiltrating the U.S.-Mexico border, law enforcement authorities said. Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, a key al Qaeda cell leader for whom the U.S. government has offered a $5 million reward, was spotted in July in Honduras meeting with leaders of El Salvador's notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang, which immigration officials said has smuggled hundreds of Central and South Americans--mostly gang members--into the United States. Although they are actively involved in alien, drug and weapons smuggling, Mara Salvatrucha members in America also have been tied to numerous killings, robberies, burglaries, carjackings, extortions, rapes and aggravated assaults-- including at least seven killings in Virginia and a machete attack on a 16-year-old in Alexandria that severely mutilated his hands.”