British terrorism suspect had US Navy plans: prosecutors

British citizen facing extradition to the United States on terrorism charges was found in possession of detailed military plans for a US Navy battle group in the Gulf, federal prosecutors said.

An indictment unsealed in Connecticut also accused Babar Ahmad, 30, of operating two US-based web sites that solicited financial support for terrorist organizations, including the Taliban and Chechen rebels.

"In order to dismantle terrorist organizations, we must attack them at their roots, so it is critical that we uncover and sever the financing stream and communication that supports the terrorists' violent intentions," said US Attorney Kevin O'Connor.

Details of the indictment were also read to Ahmad earlier Friday in a court in London, where he had been arrested by British police two days earlier.

Asked if he understood the charges, he replied: "Not really. It's all a bit confusing to me."

O'Connor said the document concerning the US naval battle group operating in the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf in 2001 was found on a floppy disc by British police during a search of Ahmad's parents' house last December.

It specifically described the battle-group's vulnerability to a terrorist attack, and provided examples of how such an assault might be launched, said authorities.

Charges contained in the indictment include conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists -- an offense punishable by life imprisonment -- conspiracy to launder money to support the Taliban, to kill persons in a foreign country, and soliciting crimes of physical violence.

"Extradition does not move as quickly as any of us would like," O'Connor said, while praising the cooperation of British law enforcement in the case.

The websites allegedly operated by Ahmad offered instructions on how to obtain and send supplies, including gas masks and night vision goggles, to terrorist groups, the indictment said.

And they gave precise details of how to get into Afghanistan (news - web sites) through Pakistan without being detected.

The indictment also cited e-mail traffic linking Ahmad to the Chechen group that seized a packed Moscow theater in October, 2002. More than 125 of the hostages died in a rescue attempt.

The investigation that resulted in Friday's indictment took more than two years.

"We hear often in the United States how patient and persistent terrorists are," O'Connor said. "Cases like this demonstrate that we are more patient and more persistent.

"No matter where they're hiding, be it a cave, be it in the ground, be it in a safe house or in the dark corners of cyberspace, law enforcement is there as well," he said.

Document - Judgments - Link

www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/abu-hamza-summary-05102012.pdf

SNIPPET: “Babar Ahmad

9. Babar Ahmad was arrested in London on 5 August 2004. The case against Babar Ahmad is that through websites operated from the UK and a mirror website in the US and by extensive e-mail correspondence, he solicited funds

Page 3

for terrorism for the Taliban and other Mujahideen. A material part of that effort was directed at the United States. The most serious allegation is communication with an enlistee in the US Navy when on patrol, his encouragement of that person and the possession of details of the vulnerability of a US battle formation in the Straits of Hormuz; the allegation is to the effect that the enlistee was encouraged to betray his fellow crew members and his country.”

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19855380

6 October 2012 Last updated at 04:16 ET

“Abu Hamza due in US court following extradition”

SNIPPET: “Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza is due to appear in court in New York to face terrorism charges.

He is one of five men who left the UK on two flights, hours after the High Court rejected their final appeals.

It has been confirmed Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan have landed in the US. They will appear before a judge in Connecticut in connection with the alleged running of a pro-jihad website.

The home secretary said the extradition process had been too “lengthy”.

On Friday, UK judges ruled the five men - Abu Hamza, Mr Ahmad, Mr Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz - did not show “new and compelling” reasons to stay in the UK.””

NOTE The following text is a quote:

www.fbi.gov/newhaven/press-releases/2012/two-extradited-british-nationals-to-appear-in-new-haven-federal-court-to-face-terrorism-related-charges

Two Extradited British Nationals to Appear in New Haven Federal Court to Face Terrorism-Related Charges

U.S. Attorney’s Office
October 06, 2012

District of Connecticut

NEW HAVEN, CT—David B. Fein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton, and Special Agent in Charge Kimberly K. Mertz of the New Haven Division of the FBI announce that Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan are scheduled to appear at 8:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven, Connecticut.

Ahmad, 38, and Ahsan, 33, both British citizens, are charged with terrorism-related offenses stemming from their involvement in and operation of “Azzam Publications,” an entity in London that allegedly provided material support to the Chechen Muhjahideen, the Taliban, and associated terrorist groups. Both defendants were extradited from the United Kingdom and arrived in the United States earlier today.

On October 6, 2004, a federal grand jury sitting in Bridgeport, Connecticut returned an indictment charging Ahmad with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, providing material support to terrorists, conspiring to kill persons in a foreign country, and money laundering. On June 28, 2006, a Bridgeport grand jury returned an indictment charging Ahsan with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, providing material support to terrorists, and conspiring to kill persons in a foreign country. Ahmad and Ahsan have been detained since their arrests by British law enforcement authorities on August 5, 2004, and July 19, 2006, respectively.

The indictments allege that Ahmad and Ahsan were members of a group that supported the Chechen Muhjahideen, the Taliban, and associated terrorist groups through various means, including the operation of a series of websites under the name of “Azzam Publications,” which promoted violent jihad and featured jihadi training manuals, interviews with al Qaeda and Chechen leaders and associates, and stories and martyrdom videos of fallen jihadists. The indictments allege that the defendants assisted the Taliban and the Chechen Mujahideen by providing funds, military items, communications equipment, lodging, training, safe houses, expert advice and assistance, personnel, transportation, false documentation and identification, and other supplies, knowing and intending that such conduct would support the military activities of these and associated groups.

Among other things, the indictments allege that Ahmad made efforts to secure GPS devices, Kevlar helmets, night vision goggles, ballistic vests, and camouflage uniforms. In addition, Ahmad and Ahsan are alleged to have recruited and arranged for individuals to travel to Afghanistan to train for violent jihad.

The indictments further allege that a search of Ahmad’s residence in the United Kingdom in December 2003 revealed Ahmad in possession of an electronic document setting forth what were previously classified plans regarding the makeup, advance movements, and mission of a U.S. Naval battle group as it was to transit from California to its deployment in the Middle East. The document discussed the battle group’s perceived vulnerability to terrorist attack. Ahsan is alleged to have possessed, accessed, and modified the electronic battle group document in April 2001.

“This has been a lengthy process, but the government’s commitment to presenting this case to a jury during a fair and open trial has never wavered,” said U.S. Attorney Fein. “The allegations contained in the indictments, which include promotion of terrorism and conspiracy to murder persons living abroad, are as serious today as when they were initially charged. I commend Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and the many other law enforcement agencies here and in the U.K. for investigating this matter. I also want to acknowledge the DHS, FBI, and DOJ Attaches at the U.S. Embassy in London and the attorneys and staff at the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, who have seamlessly coordinated with us during this extradition process.”

“Homeland Security Investigations continues to use every available resource to protect the American public from those who would compromise our national security through terrorism,” said ICE Director Morton. “This extradition demonstrates law enforcement’s resolve to bring to justice anyone who supports those who would target American interests at home or abroad. As a result of HSI’s extraordinary cooperation with our British partners, Ahmad and Ahsan will now face justice for their alleged crimes in a U.S. courtroom.”

“Today, more than at any other time in U.S. history, terrorism investigations involve the identification, disruption, and dismantling of material and financial support systems,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Mertz. “Without those support systems, terrorists and terrorist groups simply cannot survive. This investigation underscores Homeland Security Investigations’ and the FBI’s enduring commitment to combating terrorism by uprooting these global and often complex support networks.”

If convicted of the charges, Ahmad and Ahsan face maximum terms of imprisonment of life.

U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is being investigated by a task force in Connecticut consisting of special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, law enforcement agents from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division, the IRS-CI Electronic Crimes Program, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

U.S. Attorney Fein also praised the substantial efforts of law enforcement authorities from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Anti-Terrorist Branch and the Extradition and International Assistance Unit, both within New Scotland Yard, whose efforts and assistance have been essential in the investigation in this case. U.S. Attorney Fein also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service for its assistance in the extradition of the defendants.

The case is being prosecuted by a team of federal prosecutors, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Reynolds from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut and Attorneys Sharon Lever and Alexis Collins from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington.

http://www.investigativeproject.org/4235/british-national-pleads-guilty-to-operating-jihad

For The Record - The IPT Blog
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British National Pleads Guilty to Operating Jihad Websites

by Abha Shankar • Dec 10, 2013 at 4:25 pm

SNIPPET: “Babar Ahmad operated a chain of jihadi websites called “Azzam Publications” through a service provider based in Connecticut, court records show. The al-Qaida-tied websites sought to recruit individuals to be mujahideen as well as solicit funds for jihad, including for the Chechen Mujahideen and the Taliban.

Ahmad, a resident of the United Kingdom, was extradited to the United States last year after a protracted legal fight.

He used the Azzam websites to communicate with a U.S. naval enlistee Hassan Abujihaad who served as a signalman on the destroyer USS Benfold. Abujihaad disclosed to Ahmad “then-classified information about his battle group’s itinerary, listing dates for anticipated port calls in Hawaii and Australia, and for the battle group’s transit through the Strait of Hormuz.” Abujihaad also “discussed the battle group’s perceived vulnerability to terrorist attack.”

Investigators found that secret Navy information on a floppy disk in the London apartment of one of the website’s organizers during an investigation into Azzam Publications. Abujihaad was sentenced in 2009 to 10 years in prison for material support to terrorism and leaking classified information.

Ahmad’s accomplice Syed Talha Ahsan, also charged in connection with the case, was scheduled to plead guilty today. Ahmad faces up to 30 years and Ahsan up to 15 years in prison during sentencing. Ahmad’s sentencing is scheduled for March 2014.”

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