The men were lured into the scheme with the promise of profiting from the illegal sale of a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile that the informant told them would be used to kill a Pakistani ambassador as payback for the jailing of Abdul Qadir Khan, a founder of Pakistan's nuclear program. The assassination was supposed to take place near the United Nations headquarters, according to the complaint.
------ "Federal Agents Raid Mosque In Albany, N.Y. : Authorities say arrests of two members of Albany mosque, though not linked to current alert," by BRENDAN LYONS and PAUL GRONDAHL, Courtesy of The Times Union, Updated: August 9th, 2004 10:31 AM EDT
The mosque was bought in 1999 by the North American Islamic Trust, a public charity that controls hundreds of other mosques nationwide. It features a large open area carpeted for prayer, mismatched chairs and few amenities.
The mosque was previously in a smaller building on Central Avenue, but as its membership grew, the trust purchased the larger building five years ago. Membership has increased to about 200 regular worshippers, members said.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks FBI agents questioned members about a mosque founder, Ali Mounnes Yaghi, an openly anti-American Jordanian immigrant who operated pizza businesses in the city for about 15 years. Yaghi was jailed as a federal detainee for almost a year as the FBI investigated whether he or any of his acquaintances had connections to terrorist cells or the Sept. 11 attacks.
------ "Federal Agents Raid Mosque In Albany, N.Y. : Authorities say arrests of two members of Albany mosque, though not linked to current alert," by BRENDAN LYONS and PAUL GRONDAHL, Courtesy of The Times Union, Updated: August 9th, 2004 10:31 AM EDT
Thanks for the pings. I wonder what's in Albany that they decided to set up shop there. I'd guess being closer to the Canadian border than NYC might be a factor, but that would only answer part of it--I'm still wondering, why Albany instead of, say, Buffalo or Syracuse?