Two Chicago-area men arrested in Ohio terrorism case By
Chuck Goudie
February 21, 2007 - Two cousins from the Chicago area were arrested Wednesday as part of an alleged terrorist plot. They are accused of conspiring to commit terrorist acts against U.S. military forces and Americans overseas.
The conspiracy allegedly included finding fresh recruits to wage "violent jihad" against Americans and locating sites for training.
The conspiracy now involves seven men, according to federal prosecutors, a conspiracy that had one aim: help terrorists in Iraq who are fighting U.S. forces.
At 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, federal agents swarmed a house on the North Side and in a north suburb, arresting a pair of blood relatives, who now stand charged with helping in a suicide bombing scheme that was to kill U.S. soldiers.
Video of what happens to a mannequin wearing a suicide bomb vest was on the Arabic training tape that federal agents say was part of the terror ring's curriculum. Former Hickory Hills resident Marwan el-Hindi was charged last year in an alleged plot to attack U.S. forces serving in Iraq. El-Hindi and two other men are currently in custody awaiting trial in Ohio where the conspiracy was broken up.
As the ABC7 I-Team first reported last February, federal authorities believed el-Hindi had recruited two Chicago men to help carry out the overseas attacks. Wednesday afternoon, those two men appeared in federal court in Chicago, charged with conspiring to kill or maim American soldiers in Iraq.
North Sider Khaleel Ahmed of and his cousin, Zubair Ahmed, were both labeled as dangerous and flights risks. U.S. Magistrate Geraldine Brown ordered them held until a Monday hearing that to determine how they will be transported to Cleveland.
Zubair A. Ahmed is an American citizen, 27 years old, from North Chicago. His cousin Khaleel is also an American citizen, 26 years old and lives on North Keystone in Chicago.
The Ahmed's cousins were allegedly in a plot to wage "violent jihad" against Americans. Plot leaders are charged with locating training sites, and providing instruction in firearms, explosives and hand-to-hand combat.
In the late 1990s, the alleged plot leader, Marwan el-Hindi, worked in Chicago's Loop operating a travel company called Royal International. When the I-Team broke the story last year, el-Hindi's lawyer maintained that his client was being smeared.
"When you have a Muslim charged with a crime, and there is some implication of terrorism, the first thing the public thinks is guilty," said Steve Hartman, el-Hindi's attorney.
Lawyers for the two Chicago men declined to answer reporters' questions about Wednesday's terrorism indictment, saying they had just been handed the case.
If convicted, the cousins' Ahmed could receive life in prison.
We expect to talk with federal authorities in Cleveland about this case and will have much more coming up on our news at 6.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=investigative&id=5054891
From the article:
The Ahmed's cousins were allegedly in a plot to wage "violent jihad" against Americans. Plot leaders are charged with locating training sites, and providing instruction in firearms, explosives and hand-to-hand combat.
hmmmm...Marwan el-Hindi, Kahleel Ahmed, and Zubair Ahmed.
I see those Illinois Amish are acting up again.
THANK YOU for that update freeperfromnj.
I do appreciate it.