US News
US foils alleged plot to attack US military base (2nd Roundup)
By Pat Reber May 9, 2007, 0:54 GMT
A vehicle entry gate is shown at Fort Dix, New Jersey May 8, 2007. REUTERS/John Randolph
Washington - Federal police broke up an alleged plot by suspected terrorists to attack military facilities in New Jersey and other states after monitoring the group for 16 months as they obtained maps and guns, federal officials said Tuesday.
Five suspects in their 20s - including three illegal residents from Jordan and the former Yugoslavia - were arrested on suspicion of intending to 'attack and kill at least 100 soldiers' at Fort Dix Army base using rocket-propelled grenades or other weapons, according to documents filed Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in federal court in Camden, New Jersey.
While they face a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty, a sixth suspect was charged only with aiding and abetting illegal possession of firearms.
The 26-page document describes the six men as they debate targets and whether they should join the US Army to kill soldiers from inside.
The suspects planned to use personal savings to pay for automatic weapons and grenade launchers, and there was no evidence that the group of 'Islamic radicals' received money from abroad, officials said.
The group however was of urgent concern to justice officials because they represented a 'new form of terrorism' which 'operates under the radar' without specific command and control, said Jody Weis, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, in broadcast remarks.
'We believe they are their own cell,' said US Attorney Christopher Christie in broadcast remarks. 'But we believe they are inspired by international terrorist organizations'
Among the arrested were three brothers - Dritan, Eljvir (also known as Elvis) and Shain, age 28, 23 and 26 - who were in the US illegally and operated a roofing company.
The others were Jordanian-born Mohammad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22, a US citizen who operated a taxi cab in Philadelphia, and Serdar Tatar, 23, a legal resident born in Turkey who last worked at a convenience store.
The sixth suspect, Agron Abdullahu, 24, a legal resident born in the former Yugoslavia and employed at a Shop-Rite supermarket, faces 10 years in federal prison for collaborating with the rest.
The men were being held in jail until a bail hearing on Friday in Camden, New Jersey.
The plot began to unravel in January 2006, when FBI agents received a tip through local police from a retail store that it had duplicated a suspicious video into a DVD that showed '10 young men ... in their early twenties shooting assault weapons at a firing range.'
They were 'calling for jihad and shouting in Arabic, 'Allah Akbar' (God is Great),' the charges stated.
Using two paid informants, the FBI kept track of the group through audio recordings that revealed a willingness to die in the attack and knowledge that what they were doing was illegal. At one point, the informer gave Shnewer's laptop to the FBI to copy the hard drive.
After debating various targets - including Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the Dover (Delaware) Air Force Base, the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia and military ships docked in the Philadelphia harbour - the group settled on Fort Dix because Tatar knew it 'like the palm of his hand' from delivering pizza there for his family's local pizza business.
'My intent is to hit a heavy concentration of soldiers ... You hit four, five or six Humvees and light the whole place (up) and retreat completely without any losses,' Shnewer was recorded as saying.
One plotter suggests they join the US Army so they can attack from the inside. The men watch videos depicting violent attacks on US soldiers, and laugh as his arm is blown off.
The men practised using hand guns and rifles at a shooting range in the forests near Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania, obtained semi-automatic assault weapons and tried to obtain Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades.
The arrests occurred Monday night in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a suburb of Philadelphia, as two of the suspects met with a confidential government witness to buy three AK-47 automatic machine guns and four semi-automatic M-16s, US justice officials said.
The suspects obtained a map of Fort Dix and hid it in a car belonging to the mother of one of the suspects, and carried out surveillance of the base using their cell phones to take pictures so as not to draw attention to themselves.
'What is nice with the phone is that if you are stopped by a police, you will delete it from memory,' Shnewer was recorded as saying in August 2006.
The men also watched jihadist videos and instructional tapes on how to construct bombs and grenades.
While some of the suspects were apparently willing to die, Dritan Duka - who had five children - did not 'wanna go down ... I just want to be safe, brother,' he was recorded as saying.
But Tatar was willing to put his life on the line.
'It doesn't matter to me, whether I get locked up, arrested, or get taken away. It doesn't matter. Or I die ... I'm doing it in the name of Allah,' Tatar was quoted as saying.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
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Yes you're right, we SHOULD amend the Constitution to outlaw Islam! That would fix everything! Let's put it directly beneath the first amendment...
This is only more proof that there are idiots of all kinds. Yes you should read between the lines. Congratulations to the people we count on to catch this type of criminal. Awesome job!!!
If your immigration security measures are so good (we are told) , how come these illegal people were let in ?
What kind of barbaric nonsense are they teaching in the mosque that these men attended? What kind of 'God' do they worship that tells them to kill. Islam needs to police its own community or it will lose any respect as a religion, and come to be seen as a vindictive, corrupt ideology.
Almost 6, count 'em, 6 years into this so-called 'War on Terror.' Yep, the US just gets safer and safer every day, thanks to our troops dying in Iraq, yessiree bob. And this latest turn of events only goes to show that America is as safe as it was back in 9/11/2001. It oughta make our troops dying in Iraq proud to know that their work has proven effective.
'What kind of barbaric nonsense are they teaching in the mosque that these men attended? What kind of 'God' do they worship that tells them to kill.'
Why, the same barbaric nonsense tought in Christian churches across the nation, of course. The same 'God' that justifies our killing 'in the name of freedom.'
Let's not forget that in a war, political and religious leaders feed citizens the same exact lines on both sides. A Muslim 'Jihad' is sanctioned by a 'god,' pretty much the same way our 'War on Terrorism' is sanctioned by 'a god.' Both sides insist 'we will win because god and justice is on our side.' That reminds me, remember when the Japanese promised their citizens victory because 'divine 'kamikaze' winds' protected them? Same exact difference.
Stop pretending only Muslims are guilty of religious fanaticism. American Christians are just as guilty.
Indeed,I distinctly remember Gush saying ' may god continue to bless america ' in one of his speeches .I was flabbergasted at the vanity of this man assuming that a god exists,even claiming he is already blessing america and is asked to continue doing so .What a nonsense .If that deity is supposed to protect america,a lightning bolt on that arrogant president would be proof of that .As well as winning the war in Iraq for that matter.It just doesn't seem to happen,right ?
I can not BELIEVE why so many idiotic, politically correct, multicultural, always apologizing, so quick to turn traitor against their own nation citizens live in this country!
How small is your mind 'JIMBO THE MALE BIMBO' to NOT realize that muslims are using our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and freedom of religion laws AGAINST US!?!?
Apparently very small.
These welfare abusing muslims are attempting to use our laws to undermine our laws and eventually install sharia-islamic law when they have a majority population in the US and than amend the laws that you allegedly worry so much about today.
They are doing it NOW in certain cities and towns in France, England, and Sweden as now they are outnumbering the European locals.
In your politically correct mind you did not even know that fact as you DONT READ and only get emotionally distraught over restricting mass murderers who do not have the same morals or principles that the western world values.
ISLAM IS NOT A RELIGION BUT A POLITICAL CULT POSING AS A RELIGION AND YOU BETTER REALIZE THAT AS FACT.
The koran is nothing but a book that is the instrucional pamphlet of SEDITION AND HOW TO POLITICALY OVERTHROW EVERY GOVERNMENT ON THIS PLANET THAT IS NOT ISLAMIC IN ORIGIN.
The numbers of people who are quick to defend islam in America and leave the people open to attack is just unbelievable.
I also love the CONSTANT comparisons of saying Christianity is the same as islam.....yeah, right.
Those tricky Baptists are all out to overthrow the federal govt, behead women, execute all non-Christians, and marry their cousins.
Oops, I just described islam.
THIS is why Europe is so lethargic, apathetic, and spiritually dead today.
Too many people are as you, YOU BELIEVE IN NOTHING!
God, IS NOT an assassin or murderer, but a giver of life.
He is not a circus monkey who will jump to every idiotic demand to prove that He exists.
He is gracious, tolerant, and long suffering as indicated by creating your miserable life that you enjoy today.
He created this planet, it was not by evolution where something comes from nothing, the universe, all the animals, the pull of gravity, and all the other good things that keeps the planets in line.
Tell me this 1 thing atheist.
What are you going to do on Judgment Day when you realize you were totally wrong?
Will you look God in the face and still deny Him?
No, you will be on your kness and confessing Jesus is Lord of all.
You see, if the atheists are right, than there is no hell or eternal damnation.
No harm done, and no foul.
If the Christians are right, well than, the person who denied Christ will suffer eternally with seperation from a righteous God.
I would rather be a Christian where there is no chance of punishment.
Sorry about your choice, the atheist viewpoint involves too much risk.
If 'God' created the Earth and everthing since, as you say, it cannot come from nothing, where did God come from before he set up his creation hobby ?
He cannot have come from nothing, so there must be a bigger 'God' to create him (her). And then where did the bigger 'God' come from and so on ad infinitum.
But if on 'Judgement Day' it turns out you're wrong and you're accompanied by a dozen virgins, or are re-incarnated as a baboon, or find yourself as part of one of the other multitude of religious beliefs, what will you do then ?
But I don't think you need to worry - once dead, that's it - a few days rotting away or being stuck in an oven, and your atoms will be back in circulation to start a new life - totally at random, of course
All was created by Him and nothing was before Him.
Life itself comes from God so dont worry.
Life could never come from chaos or disorder.
Someone may need to explain to you that others, including this president, believe in a higher authority. In fact, if you have any, America was founded by Christians. I don't know what they teach you in Europe, but it's probably time to wake up.
'In God We Trust'...all other pay cash.
Nice to know DHS and the feds are doing their job.
I thought the original religion in america would be the tribal beliefs of the native americans ?
Gandhi once said 'I like this Christianity but not these Christians.'
Why?
Because you Christians hate-monger just like the radical elements of Islam, and then cover it in the 'but he started it first' excuse used by children.
I am disgusted by your ignorance.
Ghandi needs to shut up and take a shower.
Your hero Ghandi was KILLED BY A MUSLIM AND NOT A CHRISTIAN so drop your hate of Christians.
I always see the same responses when muslims are caught daily in terrorist plots. It is always the same pathetic attempts that fail to lump Christians with the mass murderers of the mohammedians.
Why attack the Christians when it is your muslim butt buddies doing all the killing and plotting against the whole planet?
Muslims can not argue or debate without losing bigtime.
Than again, how can muslims ever win when they are the ones advocating suicide and murder?
What a perverse and deranged people.
Jimbo
you are witnessing the distruction done by the fire that was kindled by us; what i mean by that is, we are making muslims allover the world angry by mishandling the situation in middle east. No matter how good you treat muslims here in america, they are not happy about the way we treating muslims abroad. Thousands of mulims are getting killed in middle east every year and americans are holding the bloody knife.
Some of you people should read the French news.The people in France are afraid to walk the streets at nite because of muslam GANG'S,thats right in there own country.....
If Wayno actually read the news in France objectively rather than putting his own racial/religious slant on it, he would realise the rioters are predominently socialists objecting to a conservative. Some may be Muslim - so what ?
It would be interesting to know if they were influenced by teachings in a mosque. I suspect that their frustration at their own miserable lives and the witnessing of everyday American cruelty abroad (and home)have warped these young men. All sorts of butchery is done under the guise of religious fervor. However, it becomes a convenient vent for other societal pressures. Prior to 1947, how many suicide bombers were there? Why has some Islamic countries suffered under terrorism while others flourish under Islam? Socio and geopolitical issues are at work here.
Seeing the vociferous, hateful yet slack jawed responses of the 'USA USA' 'LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT' crowd makes me realize how similar they are to the 'DEATH TO AMERICA' crowd. Xenophobia, economic malaise, duplicitous governments are all key in understanding terrorism.
Understanding is something the knee jerk types don't understand and don't want to. If Terrorism is a social cancer, let us treat it like such. Research, understand and PREVENT terrorism by addressing the true causes, not convenient scapegoats like religion or political ideology.
No sane person endorses the suffering of others, regardless of their religion or culture...and that razor cuts both ways my friends.
'America' is a nation founded by europeans. There was no nation here before that.
'North America' is a continent.
'American Beliefs' is almost meaningless, given the number of religions on the continent.
Another blame the USA first to feel morally superior, eh 'sigh'. Tell us some more how enlightened you are you pompous ass.
'. I suspect that their frustration at their own miserable lives and the witnessing of everyday American cruelty abroad (and home)have warped these young men. '
They came from Kosovo, where the USA saved them from 'butchery'. This is their islamic thank you card.
'However, it becomes a convenient vent for other societal pressures.'
Bull, that is pure nonsense. These were islamists who want to destroy the secular USA and establish a worldwide caliphate. Don't take my word for it, take theirs.
''USA USA' 'LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT'
In your case, just leave. I do love the USA, more so because I have seen the places that these monsters come from.
' Research, understand and PREVENT terrorism by addressing the true causes,'
Islamism; a world wide political movement masquerading as a religion. There, go prevent it.
How do I know this?
Well, referring to alleged American CRUELTY is a good start.
What cruelty do you speak of loser?
The cruelty of FIRST RESPONSE NATION to every idiot tsunami, earthquake, refugee transport, open borders to ILLEGAL ALIENS VIOLATING AND INVADING OUR BORDERS, interest free loans for rebuilding a nation wrecked by civil wars, daily food drops to starving victims of war, taking in Iraqi children wounded by islamic bombs planted by the same people you love that are killing each other, is this the cruelty you speak??
The muslims ALWAYS have an excuse to kill and simply I had enough and want them out of my country as they CONTRIBUTE NOTHING BUT ONLY TAKE!
My wife sees it almost every day as she is a nurse and these maggots always come in with MEDICADIA and guess what with that plan her same hospital that charges her enough to have health insurance will NEVER get paid back and that slack will be taken up by other patients who do have insurance you creep.
Yes, America is cruel, that must be the reason why all the flotsam and filth of the world is breaking our doors and borders to get in.
This is the first time in history ACCORDING TO YOUR MENTAL REASONING that people are trying to break into a prison rather than break out.
Go to a local mosque for me today and plant your lips on their butts.
You will make a perfect slave for them Mr. Dhimmi
Hungarian Crusader
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More proof that islam is all and only pure evil.May 9th, 2007 - 03:17:39
Add this to the looooong list of why islam needs to be outlawed and no muslims should ever be allowed to settle in the USA or in any democratic society.
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