Posted on 06/25/2004 10:43:10 PM PDT by Lijahsbubbe
A federal judge in New York has ordered a Lebanese national transferred to Minneapolis to face two counts of making false statements to federal investigators.
The U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis says Mohamad Kamal Elzahabi is charged with lying about his role in sending radio and communications equipment to Pakistan and elsewhere. He's also accused of lying about his role in helping another person illegally obtain a Massachusetts driver's license. That person was later convicted in Jordan in a bombing plot. The charges revealed Friday deal only with accusations of lying — not with the underlying crimes Elzahabi allegedly lied about. Elzahabi was interviewed by the FBI in Minnesota, so the federal prosecutors here have jurisdiction over the case.
Prosecutors say Elzahabi was a dedicated jihadist who helped train terrorists at a camp in Afghanistan in the early 1990's and fought in jihad actions in both Afghanistan and Chechnya. They also say the 41-year-old Lebanese national had relationships with high ranking terrorists — including Abu Musab al Zarqawi who's believed to be responsible for the beheading of American businessman Nicholas Berg and the recent attacks in Iraq. According to a press release from prosecutors, Elzahabi also claimed to know:
Khalid Sheik Muhammad, later became al Qaeda's leading planner. Abu Zubaida, another senior al Qaeda figure. Raed Hijazi, who was later convicted for his part in a failed Millennium bombing plot that targeted Israelis and Americans in Jordan. Bassam Kanji Elzahabi came to Minnesota in 2001. Officials report no illegal activity while Elzahabi lived in the state. He has been held in New York since he was arrested in May.
There's no word when he'll be returned to Minnesota.
Very upsetting. The big boys are right here in Mpls.
The last one arrested (Warsame) sat side by side with Bin Laden.
We also had Mohammed Atta training here in flight school.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/12/al.qaeda.witness/
Canadian detained in U.S. as al Qaeda witness
Friday, December 12, 2003 Posted: 6:55 PM EST (2355 GMT)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- A naturalized Canadian citizen of Somali origin has been detained in the United States on a material witness warrant in connection with the federal investigation of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to U.S. and Canadian officials.
U.S. government sources have told CNN that Warsame is suspected of attending an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.
Warsame's detention was first reported by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, which said Warsame is suspected of knowing alleged terrorism conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, who attended al Qaeda's infamous Khalden camp in 1998 and swore loyalty to Osama bin Laden.
One source said Warsame has provided some information about Moussaoui, whose suspicious behavior at a Minneapolis area flight school led to his arrest a month before the September 11 attacks.
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