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Group Cautions Linking Denver Cyanide To Terrorism

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Aug 14, 2008 12:20 pm US/Mountain

Group Cautions Linking Denver Cyanide To Terrorism

DENVER (AP/CBS4) ― An advocacy group for Somali immigrants has cautioned against linking terrorism to a man found dead in a Denver hotel with a pound of highly toxic sodium cyanide in his room. U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Thursday terrorism couldn't be ruled out, but that it was not indicated in the investigation.

Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, 29, of Ottawa was found dead Monday, and police say a powder found in his room was cyanide.

The cause of death hasn't been established. Police say they don't suspect foul play and the FBI says there's no apparent connection to terrorism.

The Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minn., said Thursday that connecting Dirie's death to terrorism "is a rush to judgment."

Acquaintances have said Dirie's family came from Somalia as refugees and are now Canadian citizens.

Investigators have not said why Dirie had cyanide or what he was doing in Denver.

"We're looking at the case and obviously we need to check on what his ties were or not and what his personal background was," said Mukasey. "We're aware of the death and we're looking into it."

Mukasey was in Denver Thursday to meet with leaders of the Metro Gang Task Force. He announced $17 million will be distributed to U.S. attorneys' offices across the country to fight gang violence.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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