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Toledo-Area Men Arrested for Terrorist Activity
A federal grand jury has indicted three Toledo-area men for terrorist activities. Prosecutors say the three conspired to wage a "holy war" against the United States and coalition forces in the Middle East. The indictment was unsealed Monday.The U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is expected to release more details at a news conference this afternoon in Washington D.C. According to the indictment from the US Attorney's office, the suspects are Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, and Wassim Mazloum. The indictment says all three were living in the Toledo area. Amawi is a citizen of the US and also a citizen of Jordan. El-Hindi is a naturalized American citizen who was born in Jordan. Mazloum is a legal permanent resident of the US, who came here from Lebanon. Mazloum also operated a car business in Toledo with his brother. The indictment accuses him of offering to use his dealership as a cover for traveling to and from Iraq so that he could learn how to build small explosives using household materials. The indictment also names an unindicted co-conspiratory called "The Trainer," who has U.S. military backround in security, and bodyguard training. In count 1 of the indictment, prosecutors say the three met together many times, going back as far as November 2004. The three reportedly conspired to recruit and train others for a violent jihad against United States forces and US allies in Iraq. They also reportedly put together the funding needed for the operation, and collected the equipment needed, and even travelled together to a local indoor shooting range for target practice. Prosecutors also say the three communicated by computer with an individual in the Middle East, passing information about potential attacks and terrorist training materials back and forth, as well as communication about potential weapons and targets. The indictment did not say if any attacks were imminent. Two of the men discussed plans to practice setting off explosives on July 4, 2005, so that the bombs would not be noticed, the indictment alleges. It's not clear if the suspects went through with those plans. In count 2, the grand jury found that the three had similar plans to kill US citizens abroad in addition to service members. The last three counts in the indictment dealt specifically with Mohammad Zaki Amawi. One count said Amawi distributed information on bomb-making, which in itself is a federal crime. Prosecutors also said he verbally threatened President George W. Bush, and filed two counts for that. Those crimes are separate from the conspiracy. The indictment was filed with Judge James Carr in Federal Court in Toledo. The Justice Department says Amawi is being held at a jail in Cleveland, and will be arraigned in Cleveland some time this afternoon. El-Hindi and Mazloum are being held in a jail in Toledo. They are expected in Toledo's Federal Court this afternoon. Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-21 |
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