Plot to bomb US airport foiled
Monday, June 4, 2007
b>The plan involved an international network of Muslim extremists
FOUR people, including a former member of Guyana's parliament, have been charged with conspiring to blow up jet-fuel supply tanks at New York's main airport, United States officials said on Saturday.
The alleged Islamic militant plot with links to the Caribbean was foiled well before it could be carried out, officials said, warning that it would have resulted in huge death and destruction.
"The defendants are charged with conspiring to bomb one of the busiest airports in the United States, located in one of the most densely populated areas in the northeast," US Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said in a statement.
"Had the plot been carried out, it could have resulted in unfathomable damage, deaths, and destruction," she added.
The plot allegedly involved Jamaat Al Muslimeen, described by officials as an international network of Muslim extremists from the US, Guyana, and Trinidad, according to the Justice Department.
Anti-terrorist forces arrested one of the defendants, Russell Defreitas, a former employee at John F Kennedy airport in New York, while Guyanese citizen Abdul Kadir and a Trinidadian, Kareem Ibrahim, were in custody in Trinidad.
The fourth defendant, Abdel Nur, also a Guyanese citizen, according to the statement, was not believed to be in custody.
According to federal authorities, the defendants plotted from January last year to blow up buildings, fuel tanks, and fuel pipelines at JFK New York City's main international airport, which handles over 1,000 flights every day.
Defreitas allegedly used his knowledge of airport operations to identify targets and escape routes and assess airport security and also used satellite photographs of the airport downloaded from the Internet.
News of the alleged plot comes just weeks after six alleged Islamic radicals were charged with plotting an attack on a US Army base in the northeastern state of New Jersey. The six were detained last month and charged with plotting to kill "as many soldiers as possible" at the Fort Dix base.
Federal authorities said the group which included three brothers from the former Yugoslavia, one man born in Turkey and another born in Jordan were not believed to have any connection with foreign Islamic militant groups.
AFP
FOUR people, including a former member of Guyana's parliament, have been charged with conspiring to blow up jet-fuel supply tanks at New York's main airport, United States officials said on Saturday.
The alleged Islamic militant plot with links to the Caribbean was foiled well before it could be carried out, officials said, warning that it would have resulted in huge death and destruction.
"The defendants are charged with conspiring to bomb one of the busiest airports in the United States, located in one of the most densely populated areas in the northeast," US Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said in a statement.
"Had the plot been carried out, it could have resulted in unfathomable damage, deaths, and destruction," she added.
The plot allegedly involved Jamaat Al Muslimeen, described by officials as an international network of Muslim extremists from the US, Guyana, and Trinidad, according to the Justice Department.
Anti-terrorist forces arrested one of the defendants, Russell Defreitas, a former employee at John F Kennedy airport in New York, while Guyanese citizen Abdul Kadir and a Trinidadian, Kareem Ibrahim, were in custody in Trinidad.
The fourth defendant, Abdel Nur, also a Guyanese citizen, according to the statement, was not believed to be in custody.
According to federal authorities, the defendants plotted from January last year to blow up buildings, fuel tanks, and fuel pipelines at JFK New York City's main international airport, which handles over 1,000 flights every day.
Defreitas allegedly used his knowledge of airport operations to identify targets and escape routes and assess airport security and also used satellite photographs of the airport downloaded from the Internet.
News of the alleged plot comes just weeks after six alleged Islamic radicals were charged with plotting an attack on a US Army base in the northeastern state of New Jersey. The six were detained last month and charged with plotting to kill "as many soldiers as possible" at the Fort Dix base.
Federal authorities said the group which included three brothers from the former Yugoslavia, one man born in Turkey and another born in Jordan were not believed to have any connection with foreign Islamic militant groups.
AFP
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