WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2022) US President Joe Biden is being updated on the ongoing hostage-taking situation at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
"@POTUS has been briefed about the developing hostage situation in the Dallas area. He will continue to receive updates from his senior team as the situation develops. Senior members of the national security team are also in touch with Federal law enforcement leadership," Psaki said on Twitter on Saturday.
The Colleyville Police Department said on Twitter that it was conducting Swat operations around the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Road and that the hostage situation "remains ongoing."
According to US media reports, FBI negotiators had established contact with the hostage taker. No injuries have been reported so far.
According to The Wall Street Journal, in a video from the live stream on the synagogue's Facebook page, an angry man could be overheard ranting and cursing and then said "You got to do something. I don't want to see this guy dead." The live feed was then cut out.
ABC news reported that an armed suspect claiming to have bombs took a rabbi and three others hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel on Saturday.
A US official told ABC that the hostage-taker is claiming to be the brother of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who allegedly had ties to al-Qaida (terror group, banned in Russia).
According to CBS, Siddiqui was convicted in 2010, for trying to kill US officers in Afghanistan. The hostage-taker is demanding freedom for his sister, who is serving her 86-year sentence in a federal prison.
