FBI sees no terrorism link in South Carolina case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI said on Sunday that there was no evidence of a terrorism link in the case of two college engineering students who possessed explosive materials in South Carolina over the weekend.

The two men, described in local media reports as non-U.S. citizens of Middle Eastern descent, were taken into custody late on Saturday near Charleston, South Carolina, after local police noticed what looked like explosives in their Toyota sedan during a routine traffic stop.

The FBI said the material proved to be for making homemade fireworks, not dangerous munitions.

"There's no (terrorism link) that we've identified at this point," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told Reuters.

"They got pulled over and had just enough suspicious things to warrant investigation. We don't think there's that much to it. They had some materials to make some pretty good-sized homemade fireworks but not bomb stuff."

No charges were filed in the case, but the men were being held Sunday evening at the Berkeley County detention center, WCIV-TV, the ABC network affiliate in Charleston, reported on its Web site.