Islamiske terrorangreb forhindret i Los Angeles

Fra CNN:

Three men charged in a terror investigation were planning shooting rampages at Los Angeles-area military sites ..

The men were indicted last month on federal charges of conspiring to wage war against the U.S. government through terrorism. All three -- Levar H. Washington, 25, Gregory V. Patterson, 21, and Hammad R. Samana, 21 -- have pleaded not guilty.

Appearing in Los Angeles Thursday, FBI Director Robert Mueller praised local police agencies that uncovered the alleged plot in July while investigating a string of gas station robberies. ..

The suspects allegedly targeted military recruitment centers in Southern California, estimating that 10 attacks could kill as many as 40 people, the affidavit said.

Patterson's lawyer, Winston McKesson, said his client had asked him not to comment on the case. Lawyers for Washington and Samana, a student originally from Pakistan, did not return calls seeking comment.

Samana told investigators the three men planned to storm a facility with firearms in September or October, then flee in a vehicle, the affidavit said. ..

Prosecutors contend the men were working at the behest of Kevin James, a California State Prison, Sacramento, inmate who founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS. Washington converted to Islam while imprisoned there for a previous robbery conviction.
James, 29, is scheduled to be arraigned next week. All four face counts of conspiring to wage war against the U.S. government, kill armed service members or murder foreign officials, among other charges.

Washington, Patterson and Samana -- who attended the same Inglewood mosque -- allegedly conducted surveillance of military sites, synagogues, the Israeli Consulate and El Al airline facilities in the Los Angeles area as well as Internet research on Jewish holidays, prosecutors said. ..

Prosecutors suspect that Washington, Patterson and Samana robbed gas stations in Los Angeles and Orange counties to finance their plans.

Læg mærke til deres navne - en er Pakistaner, tre indfødte amerikanere. De tre sidste er alle sorte, og i hvert fald to af dem er nylige konvertitter. I Danmark er der anslået 5.000 danske kovertitter til Islam.

Milnet har mere, blandt andet:

"A search of the Los Angeles apartment of Mr. Washington, a former gang member who was recently released from prison in Folsom, Calif., yielded what the police called radical jihadist literature, bulletproof vests and the addresses of nearly two dozen sites in Southern California that may have been chosen for terrorist attacks. The sites included National Guard recruitment centers, the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, several synagogues and the El Al ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport

A senior Los Angeles police commander, Assistant Chief George Gascon, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that investigators believed the group had planned to carry out attacks around Sept. 11 or on the Jewish High Holy Days, Oct. 4-13.

...Mr. Washington and Mr. Patterson were friends, ... they had attended a mosque in Los Angeles together and ... Mr. Samana, the third man in custody, had been seen with them by Torrance police officers who had them under surveillance in connection with the gas station holdups. He said he knew nothing more about their relationship

....the authorities apparently believed that Mr. Patterson and Mr. Washington had held up the gas stations to raise money to finance terrorist activities."

Nogle vil måske huske, at El Als billetskranke i LA´s lufthavn allerede en gang siden 11. September har været udsat for et islamisk terrorangreb. 4. Juli 2002 åbnede en egypter ild på den, dræbte to israelere og sårede seks andre før han selv blev slået ihjel.

Henrik