Saturday, November 05, 2011
After a dangerous verbal escalation between top officials of the two countries, the United States appeared to back down from the simmering faceoff with Pakistan over allegations that the latter's spy agency, the ISI, regularly connives with the Haqqani network to attack western and allied forces in Afghanistan.
Rezwan Ferdaus (26) of Ashland, Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty to charges that he planned to bomb the Pentagon and Capitol building using miniature “drone” aircraft laden with C-4 explosive. He also hoped to launch a Mumbai-style ground assault with a team of six men, according to court documents.
Formal charges
The formal charges against Ferdaus, a physics graduate of Northeastern University who was also rock band drummer nicknamed “Bollywood,” included attempting to provide material support and resources to al-Qaeda with the aim of facilitating attacks on U.S. soldiers overseas; attempting to destroy national defence premises; and attempting to destroy buildings owned by the U.S. using explosives.
Ferdaus was arrested by FBI agents last week at the culmination of what appeared to be a lengthy sting operation. Undercover officers supplied Ferdaus with an unspecified amount of what he thought was C-4 explosive, an F-86 small drone aircraft, three grenades and six fully-automatic AK-47 assault rifles.
Delayed for weeks
Ferdaus' bail hearing was said to have been delayed for several weeks after his lawyer, Catherine Byrne, requested more time to prepare his defence. Ms. Byrne said the prosecution's case was “orchestrated and facilitated by the government,” adding that Ferdaus' legal team had asked for additional time to “present a more complete picture of what happened”.
According to reports, a group of nearly a dozen family members and friends attended Ferdaus' court appearance. Several women, including his mother, were said to have wept as the charges against him were read, shouting “We love you!” as he was led out of the courtroom; and he quietly answered, “I love you, too.”
More information
More information on Ferdaus' background also emerged since his arrest last week, with prosecutors, former classmates, and religious leaders describing Ferdaus as “someone who went from playing the drums, quoting [Mahatma] Gandhi, and promoting peace to decrying conversations between men and women, criticising interfaith efforts, and calling for the death of any... nonbeliever.”
Further Ferdaus was reportedly told to leave this mosque because of his radical behaviour. Atif Harden, a spokesperson for the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Boston where Ferdaus prayed, was quoted as saying, “He was rare. No one has ever in our mosque said ‘Oh yeah, [al Qaeda] are wonderful' except him.”
The use of model aircraft as terror weapons has also received some attention following Ferdaus' arrest, since there are no restrictions on their purchase, and others could obtain them as easily on the Internet as Ferdaus did.
However counterterrorism experts and model-aircraft hobbyists reportedly said, “It would be nearly impossible to inflict large-scale damage of the sort Ferdaus allegedly envisioned [because] the aircraft are too small, can't carry enough explosives and are too tricky to fly.”
Labels: Capitol, FBI probe, Pentagon, Rezwan Ferdaus, Terror plot
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Pak-origin man arrested in Times Square bomb plot
From The Hindu
Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born citizen of the United States, was arrested on Monday night in connection with the Times Square bomb incident, even as he tried to board a flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Dubai, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The DoJ said, “At approximately 11:45 P.M. EDT, Faisal Shahzad was taken into custody. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives of the New York City Police Department arrested Shahzad for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on the evening of May 1, 2010.”
Mr. Shahzad, who is a naturalised U.S. citizen, was stopped from boarding the flight after he was identified by the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection. The DoJ said he would appear in the Manhattan federal court on May 4 to be presented on formal charges.
“We will not rest until every terrorist, whether home-grown or foreign-based, is neutralised and held to account,” said United States Attorney Preet Bharara, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George Venizelos, and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly in a joint statement.
Earlier U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder noted that multiple federal authorities had “worked night and day to find out who was responsible for what would have been a deadly attack had it been successful.” He added, “It is clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans.”
Mr. Holder emphasised the importance of public vigilance to the case: “We continue to gather leads in this investigation, and it is important that the American people remain vigilant,” he said, adding that the vehicle in Times Square was first noticed on Saturday by a citizen who reported it to authorities.
Describing the investigation as “multi-faceted” and “aggressive,” Mr. Holder also hinted at a wider inquiry including foreign entities: “As we move forward, we will focus on not just holding those responsible for it accountable, but also on obtaining any intelligence about terrorist organizations overseas.”
Labels: Faisal Shahzad, Pakistani-American, Terror plot, Times Square
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
‘Jihad Jane’ indicted for global terror plot
From The Hindu
Announcing the unsealing of the indictment on Tuesday DOJ officials said that LaRose and five unindicted co-conspirators based in South Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the United States use the Internet to recruit would-be terrorists to “wage a violent jihad” in South Asia and Europe. Further they recruited, again via the Internet, women who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.
If convicted of the charges against her, LaRose faces a potential sentence of life in prison and a $1 million fine.
LaRose, an American citizen born in 1963 and residing in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, was arrested in Philadelphia in October 2009. Tuesday’s indictment further alleges that LaRose received “a direct order to kill a citizen and resident of Sweden, and to do so in a way that would frighten the whole Kufar [non-believer] world”.
According to reports the LaRose’s target was likely to have been Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist who became the target of Islamic extremists after publishing cartoons that depicted the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog. The unsealing of her indictment comes on the same day as police in Cork, Ireland, arrested four men and three women on similar charges of plotting to kill Mr. Vilks.
The DOJ added that LaRose and her co-conspirators discussed that “her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out her plans”. LaRose also travelled to Europe and tracked the intended target online in an effort to complete her task, according to the DOJ.
"Today’s indictment… underscores the evolving nature of the threat we face," said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division. “This case shows the use terrorists can and do make of the Internet,” U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy added.
Highlighting new dimensions of terror threats Mr. Levy said, “It demonstrates yet another very real danger lurking on the Internet. This case also demonstrates that terrorists are looking for Americans to join them in their cause, and it shatters any lingering thought that we can spot a terrorist based on appearance.”
Labels: Colleen R. LaRose, Europe, Fatima LaRose, identity theft, indictment, Jihad Jane, Pennsylvania court, South Asia, Terror plot, violent jihad
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