Blast at Islamic center raises questions

Fire scene tape remained stretched across the entrance to the Ihsan Islamic School at 423 West Onondaga Street in Syracuse, New York as I walked the perimeter of the property yesterday morning.. The criss-cross of the yellow barrier serves a lone public reminder of a mysterious explosion that occurred there last Thursday afternoon. According to authorities, the blast occurred in an "unused" portion of the basement, spewing a cloud of natural gas, debris and dust into the main area of the building and forcing the evacuation of about 75 students and school personnel.

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Investigators have yet to release a statement about the cause of the explosion, although at least one additional meeting between fire officials and investigators took place Monday to discuss their findings. "It's definitely odd," stated one law enforcement official close to the investigation, speaking to this author on the strict condition of anonymity in Syracuse on Monday. "There are issues that are under investigation that are well outside of public purview," added this source, saying that the blast was not directly related to the building's heating or electrical system. "The blast occurred in a location that one would not expect if it was caused by a heating unit, at least not in the normal sense. It's curious." This source also stated that "It is not likely, it has basically been ruled out that [the blast] was caused by any who shouldn't have been there, or by an outsider with criminal intent such as arson." Although such cryptically worded statements tend to fuel notions of conspiracy, it is clear that this source was purposely intending to offset previous publicly reported suggestions that the school might have been the target of some anti-Islamic individual or group. "The evidence simply does not point in that direction." More...