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Seventh Member of âLackawanna Sixâ in Custody in Yemen
The last member of a group of Yemeni-American men from western New York sought by U.S. authorities for attending an al-Qaeda training camp has been taken into custody in Yemen, according to a newspaper report. Jaber Elbaneh was being held by Yemeni authorities, and negotiations are under way for extradition, The New York Times reported in a story for Thursday editions. Oops, itâs a NYT story. Weâll have to wait for a real newspaper for confirmation, Iâll check the National Enquirer. Six men from Lackawanna pleaded guilty last year to aiding a terrorist organization by attending the camp in Afghanistan in 2001. In December, 31-year-old Sahim Alwan was the final member of the âLackawanna Sixâ sentenced to prison, a term of 9 1/2 years. Alwan, along with Faysal Galab, Mukhtar al-Bakri, Yasein Taher, Yahya Goba and Shafal Mosed, accepted plea bargains which compelled them to cooperate in government terrorism investigations. Authorities said there was no evidence the Lackawanna group was involved in planning or participated in any terrorist act. But the investigation into the recruiters, financiers and others who may have traveled with the group continues. Those are the important players. In their pleas, all six described weapons and explosives training and a bin Laden speech to trainees about men on a mission to attack America. A $5 million reward was offered for Elbaneh. Unlike the others, he never returned to Lackawanna after his training in the spring and summer of 2001, investigators said. Which makes him a "person of interest". Lawyers for the Lackawanna Six have said the men were victims of high-pressure recruiters who appealed to their sense of religious duty in convincing them to seek military-style jihad training. Guess you figured that wouldnât fly with a jury, hence the guilty pleas. Posted by: Steve 2004-01-29 |
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