Free Republic

A Pakistan-born computer engineer has been sentenced to 23 years in prison by a US court after he pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to assist suspected members of al-Qaeda in planning bombings at Metrorail stations in the Washington area. A resident of Virginia, Farooque Ahmed (35) pleaded guilty to the charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organisation and collecting information to assist in planning an attack on a transit facility. He was arrested by the FBI on October 27, 2010. In a plea agreement, the defence and government jointly recommended a sentence of...

Federal law enforcement authorities are investigating a nascent plot to carry out a series of terrorist bombings at stations in the Washington Metro system, according to intelligence and law enforcement sources. The investigation is focused on a naturalized U.S. citizen, originally from Pakistan, who became the target of an undercover sting operation, the sources said. An administration official said the man drew the attention of law enforcement officials by seeking to obtain unspecified materials. The planned attack was not imminent, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter remains under investigation.

When Esraa Bani's phone started ringing Wednesday with news reporters on the line, she had no idea that an Ashburn man named Farooque Ahmed had been arrested for plotting to blow up Metrorail stations in Northern Virginia, or that such a story could have anything to do with her. But Ahmed's wife, Sahar Mirza-Ahmed, was a member of Hip Muslim Moms, a freewheeling group of 50 or so young mothers Bani had started. Suddenly, the coupon-clipping, play date-arranging suburban mothers were thrust into the national spotlight, associated with a horrifying plot that, as they noted, could have harmed their own...

The arrest Wednesday of a Virginia man who thought he was aiding an Al Qaeda attack on the Washington, D.C., transit system is further proof that "radical jihadists" are inside the United States, and it's a reminder to cities around the country that ground transportation is still a "highly attractive" target for terrorists, according to a New York Police Department threat assessment obtained by Fox News. Federal prosecutors have charged 34-year-old Farooque Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, with providing material support to terrorists and collecting information for a terrorist attack. Over six months, Ahmed videotaped and scouted several...

Federal agents arrested a man Wednesday for plotting to bomb the Washington, D.C., subway system, the Justice Department announced. It was the second arrest in as many days involving Americans hoping to wage violence for al-Qaida or the Taliban, and federal law enforcement officials believe it is part of a wider attempt to launch terrorist attacks. Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Ashburn, Va., was indicted Wednesday for attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to help carry out multiple bombings...

A Virginia man has been arrested for allegedly trying to help Al Qaeda plan multiple bombings around the nation's capital, according to U.S. officials. Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Ashburn, Va., was arrested today by the FBI and charged with providing material support to terrorists and collecting information for a terrorist attack. “It’s chilling that a man from Ashburn is accused of casing rail stations with the goal of killing as many Metro riders as possible through simultaneous bomb attacks,” said Neil MacBride, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Today’s arrest highlights ... our ability to find those...

A Virginia man has been arrested and indicted on charges he tried to help people he believed were al-Qaida operatives in planning to bomb subway stations in and around the nation's capital. The FBI says the public was never in danger because its agents were aware of the man's activities before the alleged planning took place and monitored him throughout. Farooque Ahmed, 34, a naturalized citizen born in Pakistan, was arrested Wednesday. He was indicted on charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit...