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| More details of the Plot to Attack Fort Dix | |
| 2007-05-08 | |
| UPDATED: May 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. authorities arrested six men identified as ``Islamic radicals'' on charges of plotting to kill American soldiers at the Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey. The men were arrested last night and charged with conspiring to use machine guns and other weapons in a planned attack that was thwarted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They scouted military bases, trained with weapons and discussed killing soldiers, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Camden, New Jersey. ``There is no evidence that they received direction from an international terrorism organization,'' White House spokesman Tony Snow said today. ``There is no direct evidence of a foreign terrorist plot.''
Four of the suspects were born in the former Yugoslavia, one is from Jordan and another from Turkey, according to Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie. The six men are scheduled for an initial appearance today in Camden federal court. Christie will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. in Camden. One of the FBI informants, identified in the complaint as CW-1, developed a relationship with Mohamad Shnewer, one of the accused men, federal authorities said. Shnewer gave the informant a DVD with ``various jihadist images,'' according to the complaint. Shnewer told the informant to review two other video files stored on his laptop computer, including ``what appears to be the last will and testament of at least two of the hijackers'' involved in the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the complaint said. Another video showed ``images of Osama bin Laden and other Islamic extremists making various speeches in which the speakers call the viewer to join the jihadist movement,'' court papers said. Besides Shnewer, the complaint identifies the suspects as Serdar Tatar, Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka, Shain Duka, and Agron Abdullahu. The alleged conspirators believed that Abdullahu was a sniper in Kosovo and that CW-1 had experience in the Egyptian military, the complaint said. Shnewer showed the other informant, CW-2, ``a number of videos'' on his laptop that ``depicted armed attacks on and the killing of United States military personnel,'' the complaint said. At meetings with CW-1 in early August, Shnewer said that he, Tatar and the three Dukas were part of a group planning to attack a U.S. military base, specifically Fort Dix, and a nearby naval base, the complaint said. Schnewer said six or seven jihadists could kill at least 100 soldiers by using rocket-propelled grenades or other weapons, and that they could train in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, according to court papers. ``Shnewer also said that he and others in the group had saved money to pay for the weapons and that they were not afraid to die,'' the complaint said. A few days later, CW-2 asked Shnewer ``what made him think of Fort Dix as a target,'' the complaint said. Shnewer replied: ``My intent is to hit a heavy concentration of soldiers.'' In mid-August 2006, Shnewer and CW-1 scouted the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey and the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the complaint said. The informants recorded many conversations with the Dukas as they discussed plans to buy rocket-powered grenades and machine guns, the complaint said. Tatar told CW-1 that he would get a map of Fort Dix from his father's pizzeria near the facility. The Duka brothers rented a house in Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania, and traveled there in early February with Abdullahu to practice firing the weapons, the complaint said. CW-2 met with Dritan and Shain Duka on March 10, when the informant asked about Tatar, the complaint said. ``Shain Duka explained that Tatar wanted to join the U.S. Army so that he could kill U.S. soldiers from the `inside,''' the complaint said. ``When CW-2 asked about Tatar again, Dritan Duka remarked, `He had only one mind, how to kill American soldiers.''' The Dukas later said that, ``rather than waging jihad overseas, they could do so in the United States,'' the complaint said. The case is USA v. Dritan Duka, 07-m-2046, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Camden). | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #25 How long before CAIR, MSM, Surrendercrats and fellow travelers spin this as a case of entrapment of another little group of stupid, hopelessly inept wannabees, all set up to give the Bushies something to talk about. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-05-08 23:43 |
| #24 IMO don't think they would've gotten very far into the base even iff they tried - this is FORT DIX, one of the US Army's best and most secure, highly disciplined installations. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-05-08 21:59 |
| #23 Four of the suspects were born in the former Yugoslavia I see that protecting ethnic Albanians from the Serbs during the Clinton years counted for a whole lot with these folks. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2007-05-08 21:03 |
| #22 From a faraway land, he came to cast out the demons from our noses, and to make sure we don't have cucumbers and tomatoes in the same salad. Heed his message, for it is The Wisdom Of Allan. |
| Posted by: Sonar 2007-05-08 20:43 |
| #21 "Wherever we are, is the House of Islam." Nah. Our houses are under God, not that Shaytan Allach. You can boast and you can attack and you can impose, but you cannot overpower a loving God. In the end, slavery never wins. In the end, love always wins. Tu--:) |
| Posted by: Jules 2007-05-08 20:31 |
| #20 FYI: I am employed by a US university, but I am employed by Allah. Jihad is the way. That's good, Mo. Could you slap a little gravy on those mashed potatoes while you're waiting for the Jihad? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-05-08 20:16 |
| #19 I wish they wouldn't have announced it was the Store Owner who turned them in. Now other terrorist scum around the nation will know better then to do this stupid move. |
| Posted by: Charles 2007-05-08 19:31 |
| #18 Boris, is that you? We've missed you during your absence. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-05-08 19:13 |
| #17 According to my learned exegesis of the Holy Quran, Fort Dix may be the home of Gog and Magog, the great challengers to Allah at the End of Days. It is a legitimate target of Muslim rage. There is no "america." Sovereignty rests in a Muslim's shoes. Wherever we are, is the House of Islam. I didn't move from secular occupied Egypt to sick America in order to share perverse American values; I am here to impose Islam on you savages. Nothing you can do will stop Muslims from taking over the entire world. There will be no more "presidents"; there will be a Khalif, forcing slaves of Allah to live according to His Rules, as transmitted by His Messenger, Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him). War be upon America, until it falls. FYI: I am employed by a US university, but I am employed by Allah. Jihad is the way. |
| Posted by: Muhammad Curtis 2007-05-08 19:07 |
| #16 I suspect the two informants were Muslim too. Both were seemingly trusted by the Islamists, which would not have happened if they were not 'good' Muslims. Yet they really were good American Muslims, and ratted out the Islamists to the feds. My question is, "How many other American Muslims were exposed to this plot but chose to remain quiet and betray their country rather than 'betray' Islam and call authorities. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-05-08 18:37 |
| #15 1 I'm curious, supposed a group like this does attack an army base. Do our troops have ammo for their weapons in their barracks? So that they can actually defend themselves or do they still keep it elsewhere? Oh, maybe a hundred years ago. You can see picture of weapons racks on the barracks floors. However, today, they're all kept locked up in the arms room, behind bars, chained to racks. Accountability you know. Ammo is stored at a separate facility and pulled only when needed for specific and scheduled training. You know you just can't trust those kids. And there are rules for keeping private weapons in post/base housing too. The military police are armed and locked and loaded. Not to be confused with the 'hire a guard' that now performs the gate checks at the road entrance points to the installation. Not that someone at night couldn't just climb over a fence at some point and be in the barracks/housing area without much confrontation and be unloading before serious counter action can be applied. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-05-08 17:55 |
| #14 Do our troops have ammo for their weapons in their barracks? Nope. Ammo would be locked up in the armory and only issued before going to the range. Over at Ft. Lee (just down the road), the trainees walk around with dummy rifles, so they don't kill each other. And the gate guards are contact civilians, not even MPs. That's pretty common on all stateside bases thanks to the "Peace Dividend". Yes, your United States Military is protected by Rent-A-Cops. |
| Posted by: Steve 2007-05-08 17:53 |
| #13 "NAME: Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer. Born in Jordan. IMMIGRATION STATUS: U.S. citizen" Try him, convict him, revoke his citizenship, and then shoot his sorry ass. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-05-08 17:18 |
| #12 From the ABC blog, The Blotter: In a criminal complaint filed this morning, an FBI agent writes that "SERDAR TATAR's father owned a restaurant near Fort Dix and made deliveries onto the base." The father, owner of Super Mario's Restaurant, told ABCNews.com today that his staff often made pizza deliveries on to the base and to the nearby McGuire Air Force Base. According to the complaint, Tatar "described a place at Fort Dix they could target that would cause a power outage and allow for an easier attack on the military personnel there." Tatar's father told ABCNews.com he talked to his son only yesterday, and there was no indication of anything unusual, no indication that his 24-year-old son harbored a deep hatred of the United States. "ThereÂ’s something wrong here," the father said. "I came here from Turkey in 1992, and this is my country. I love this country." He said his son had not worked at the restaurant for at least a year, and he believed his son was working at a 7-11 convenience store in Philadelphia. The criminal complaint tells a much different story, describing Tatar as suspicious of the FBI's undercover operative who infiltrated the group. Last November, Tatar allegedly contacted a sergeant in the Philadelphia police department to check the name of the undercover informant. The restaurant's chef, Joseph Hofflinger, 35, quit today after finding out the news that the owner of Super Mario's Pizza was the father of one of the suspected terrorists. When asked by reporters why he quit, Hofflinger said, "Because I won't work for somebody that has any ties or admission to terrorists." He continued, "My son is in the 82nd Airborne. I won't work for a place that supports terrorism so I'm out." ************************************ From WNBC television: basic biographical information on the men accused of plotting a terror attack on soldiers in Fort Dix, N.J.: NAME: Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer. AGE: 22; Born in Jordan. HOME: Cherry Hill, N.J. OCCUPATION: Drives a cab in Philadelphia. IMMIGRATION STATUS: U.S. citizen. NAME: Dritan Duka. AGE: 28; Born in the former Yugoslavia. Ethnic Albanian. HOME: Cherry Hill, N.J. IMMIGRATION STATUS: In United States illegally. OCCUPATION: Operates Colonial Roofing and National Roofing, which list business address at the home of his brothers, Eljvir and Shain Duka. NAME: Shain Duka. AGE: 26; Born January 1981 in the former Yugoslavia. Ethnic Albanian. LIVES: Cherry Hill, N.J. IMMIGRATION STATUS: In United States illegally. OCCUPATION: Operates roofing businesses with his brothers. NAME: Eljvir Duka. ALIASES: Elvis Duka, Sulayman. AGE: 23; Born in the former Yugoslavia. Ethnic Albanian. LIVES: Cherry Hill, N.J. IMMIGRATION STATUS: In United States illegally. OCCUPATION: Operates roofing businesses with his brothers. NAME: Serdar Tatar. AGE: 23; Born in Turkey. HOME: Philadelphia. IMMIGRATION STATUS: Legal U.S. resident. OCCUPATION: Works at a 7-Eleven store in Philadelphia. NAME: Agron Abdullahu. AGE: 24; Born September 1982 in the former Yugoslavia. Ethnic Albanian. LIVES: Buena Vista Township, N.J. IMMIGRATION STATUS: Legal U.S. resident. OCCUPATION: Works at a Shop-Rite supermarket. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-08 17:09 |
| #11 I'm curious, supposed a group like this does attack an army base. Do our troops have ammo for their weapons in their barracks? So that they can actually defend themselves or do they still keep it elsewhere? |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2007-05-08 16:52 |
| #10 They got caught because they didn't video themselves with a digital camera, but how many more can blend in and not be so careless? |
| Posted by: Danielle 2007-05-08 16:50 |
| #9 The were Islamic "radicals", therefore they were terrorists. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-05-08 15:27 |
| #8 "Or if I die, it doesn't matter. I'm doing it in the name of Allah." Shoot him in the name of allan. Wait a New York minute. The donks said there was no war on terrorism. I heard em all say it during the debates [ I guess because they agreed to surrender.] |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-05-08 14:58 |
| #7 I expect CAIR to launch a class action suit against "racism" dvd rental operators for reporting their co-"religion"ists to the authorities. I further expect the ACLU to back them and every arts and social science "professor" in the country to agree. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-05-08 14:34 |
| #6 The scary part is, pizza delivery folks blend into the scenery and become invisible; all bases have pizzerias nearby and they all make deliveries, and i am willing to bet that 95% never check the fat insulated blanketed bags that the 'pizzas' are in; ou could get a lot of firepower through the gate and recon by the DOminos boy would identify spots to stash same if you wanted to build up an arsenal. It would be a simple matter to have 2 ride in and only 1 ride out. repeat a couple of times ( say friday or saturday night) and come monday you could have enough bad guys on the ground to do some hurt. the local NAS has enough wooded areas that a couple of guys could hide for 48 hours and there are probably other bases that have similiar areas that could offer concealment. just sayin' |
| Posted by: USN. Ret. 2007-05-08 14:20 |
#5 This is what CBS News put on its website:"It doesn't matter to me whether I get locked up, arrested or get taken away," a suspect identified as Serdar Tatar said in another recorded conversation. "Or I die, it doesn't matter. I'm doing it in the name of Allah." This talk about "Allah" and going "jihad" is the evidence of the tie to international terrorism. Maybe it'll take another 6 years for the MSM and the electorate to figger that out. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-05-08 14:13 |
| #4 "The FBI investigation is triggered when a retail video store representative informs agents that someone brought in a video to be duplicated as a DVD. The video depicts the Jan. 3 weapons training session by young men in militia-like garb shouting jihadist chants." Hmmmm. not the sharpest pencils in the box, eh? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2007-05-08 13:57 |
| #3 The phrase "conduct tactical training in Cherry Hill" in freakin' hilarious. Until you realize they really meant it. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-05-08 13:48 |
| #2 WASHINGTON, May 8 /Standard Newswire/ -- Attached is the criminal complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court in New Jersey in connection with the alleged Fort Dix terror plot. Attachment A to the complaint is virtually the same for all defendants. There is a press conference scheduled for 2:30 PM today at the Federal Courthouse in Camden, New Jersey, to discuss the case. |
| Posted by: Steve 2007-05-08 13:41 |
| #1 Timeline of terror Jan. 3, 2006: Dritan Duka, Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, Eljvir Duka, Shain Duka and Serdar Tatar conduct firearms training in Gouldsboro, Pa., 30 miles southeast of Scranton. Jan. 31, 2006: The FBI investigation is triggered when a retail video store representative informs agents that someone brought in a video to be duplicated as a DVD. The video depicts the Jan. 3 weapons training session by young men in militia-like garb shouting jihadist chants. March 2006: A "cooperating witness" infiltrates the group by developing a relationship with Shnewer. April 14, 2006: The cooperating witness records a meeting with Shnewer in which Shnewer said they need to view a video in private because "it's about something that could lead to prison." May 26, 2006: The cooperating witnesses is asked to view DVD files on Shnewer's laptop computer, including a file, labeled "19," containing what appears to be the last will and testament of at least two of the 19 Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers. July 7, 2006: A second cooperating witness is approached by six men, one of whom identifies himself as "Sulayman," a name used by Eljvir Duka. July 28, 2006: During a meeting with the three Dukas, the second cooperating witness learns that the brothers keep their firearms with Eljvir Duka's brother-in-law, Shnewer, and an individual named "Agim," whom authorities identify as Agron Abdullahu. July 29, 2006: The second cooperating witness is shown videos from Shnewer's laptop computer depicting armed attacks on U.S. military personnel. Aug. 11, 2006: Shnewer travels to Fort Dix and Fort Monmouth to conduct surveillance. Aug. 13, 2006: Shnewer travels to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and the U.S. Coast Guard Building in Philadelphia to conduct surveillance. Nov. 28, 2006: Tatar acquires a map of Fort Dix, labeled "Cantonment Area Fort Dix, N.J.," to be distributed to the others. Jan. 31, 2007: Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Eljvir Duka collect weapons, including handguns, shotguns and semi-automatic assault weapons to be used in small arms training. Feb. 1, 2007: Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Eljvir Duka travel by car from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to conduct firearms training. Feb. 2, 2007: Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Eljvir Duka conduct firearms training at Gouldsboro, Pa. Feb. 4, 2007: Shnewer, Dritan Duka, Shain Duka and Eljvir Duka review terrorist videos. Feb. 26, 2007: Dritan Duka and Eljvir Duka conduct tactical training in Cherry Hill. March 15, 2007: Dritan Duka and Shain Duka conduct tactical training in Cherry Hill. April 6, 2007: Dritan Duka orders four AK-47 Kalishnikov fully automatic machine guns, as well as M-16 firearms and handguns. April 27, 2007: Shnewer orders an AK-47 Kalishnikov fully automatic machine gun. May 7, 2007: Federal investigators arrest the three Dukas, Shnewer, Tatar and Abdullahu, after several of them are lured to a meeting with a secret FBI informant posing as an arms-seller. |
| Posted by: Steve 2007-05-08 13:38 |