Free Republic

Terrorists ready for holy war in 40 American states IAN BRUCE, Defence Correspondent February 11 2004 ISLAMIC terror commandos are being infiltrated into the US in preparation for "an American jihad" from within, according to intelligence sources. Dozens of radicals trained in camps in western Pakistan and Kashmir are already believed to have slipped into the country and been absorbed in sleeper cells in unsuspecting Muslim communities as the vanguard of a holy army estimated to be several hundred strong. An FBI spokesman said al Qaeda and allied organisations were thought to be operating in 40 American states, awaiting orders...

<p>Islamic radicals are being trained at terrorist camps in Pakistan and Kashmir as part of a conspiracy to send hundreds of operatives to "sleeper cells" in the United States, according to U.S. and foreign officials.</p> <p>The intelligence and law-enforcement officials say dozens of Islamic extremists have already been routed through Europe to Muslim communities in the United States, based on secret intelligence data and information from terrorists and others detained by U.S. authorities.</p>

<p>ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Four U.S. citizens who allegedly used paintball games outside Washington for military-style training went on trial Monday on charges of conspiracy to aid the Taliban against the United States.</p> <p>The government has alleged the four, who waived their right to a jury trial, are members of a "Virginia jihad network."</p>

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Four men who are to go on trial Monday were members of a dangerous Muslim terror cell that schemed to support the Taliban and fight the United States, the government charges. Defense lawyers paint a different picture, saying overzealous prosecutors have turned legal activities, like playing paintball and buying weapons, into a sinister plot, and are inferring anti-American sentiments where none exist. It will be up to U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema to decide the men's guilt or innocence: all four defendants and the prosecution have waived their right to a jury trial. The four men were...

A key member of an alleged Virginia jihad network pleaded guilty to federal weapons and explosives charges today, denying that he intended to harm Americans but acknowledging that he and his co-defendants had sought to fight on behalf of Muslim causes abroad. Randall Todd Royer, 30, of Falls Church, entered his surprise plea in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. He faces at least 20 years in prison when he is sentenced April 9. Another of the 11 men originally charged in the case, Ibrahim Ahmed al-Hamdi, 26, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to similar charges and faces at least 15 years...

"A key member of an alleged Virginia jihad network pleaded guilty to federal weapons and explosives charges [Friday], denying that he intended to harm Americans but acknowledging that he and his co-defendants had sought to fight on behalf of Muslim causes abroad," the Washington Post reports: Randall Todd Royer, 30, of Falls Church, entered his surprise plea in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. He faces at least 20 years in prison when he is sentenced April 9. Another of the 11 men originally charged in the case, Ibrahim Ahmed al-Hamdi, 26, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to similar charges and faces...

WASHINGTON -- Two members of a Virginia-based Islamic terrorism network pleaded guilty to weapons and explosives charges Friday and promised to help the government, Attorney General John Ashcroft said. Randall Royer and Ibrahim al-Hamdi, who entered their pleas in suburban Alexandria, Virginia., had ties to the Lashkar-e-Taiba group seeking to drive India out of Kashmir. A federal indictment said the Northern Virginia group also had broader goals of helping the al-Qaida network; Afghanistan's former ruling militia, the Taliban; and rebels in Chechnya. Both Royer, 30, and al-Hamdi, 26, pleaded guilty to using and discharging a firearm during, and in relation...

WASHINGTON: Three members of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, accused of a scheme to engage in "holy jehad" against Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir , have been sentenced by a US court to prison terms ranging from three to 11 years following guilty pleas in August to conspiracy and weapons charges. US District Judge Leonie M Brinkema in Alexandria on Friday sentenced Yong Ki Kwon, 27, a naturalised US citizen of Fairfax, Khwaja Mahmood Hasan, 27, a Pakistani-born US citizen who lived in Alexandria, and Donald T Surratt, 30, a former US soldier of Suitland. The three men were among...

<p>ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Three men accused of practicing military tactics at a paintball field outside Washington were sentenced to prison Friday for their roles in a Virginia jihad network that trained members to support a Pakistani terrorist group.</p> <p>Yong Ki Kwon and Khwaja Mahmood Hasan of Fairfax, Va., and Donald T. Surratt of Suitland, Md., pleaded guilty to conspiracy and gun charges in August.</p>

<p>ALEXANDRIA - The final three of 11 defendants in an alleged "Virginia jihad network" accused of training to support a Pakistani terrorist group are in U.S. custody.</p> <p>The three defendants - Seifullah Chapman, Sabri Benkhala and Khwaja Mahmood Hasan - had been in Saudi custody for nearly one month but arrived in the United States during the weekend and made an initial appearance yesterday in U.S. District Court.</p>

<p>October 16, 2003 -- WASHINGTON - The three Americans recently handed over to the U.S. by Saudi Arabia are members of an Islamic "paintball gang" wanted on terrorism charges in Virginia, officials revealed yesterday.</p> <p>Justice Department and Saudi embassy officials said three American citizens who were part of a group of 12 men indicted for "jihad training" at a remote paintball park in Spotsylvania County, Va., were arrested in Saudi Arabia this summer and extradited to the United States, where they will go on trial next month.</p>

Muhammed Aatique, a Montgomery County telecommunications engineer accused of training with a Pakistani terrorist group, pleaded guilty yesterday to aiding a conspiracy and gun charges. The case involves the largest number of alleged terrorists at home since the government launched its crackdown on terrorism after 9/11.