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| Albany Ansar al-Islam members gathered intel for Binny, Krekar |
| 2006-03-23 |
| The spiritual leader of an Albany mosque repeatedly called a phone number in Syria that an FBI report indicates had been used to gather terrorist intelligence for Osama bin Laden, according to classified documents unsealed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court. The FBI report, which was based on information from a confidential informant, was among several once-secret documents that federal authorities say raise questions about Yassin Aref's connections to terrorist organizations across the Middle East. Aref, 35, a Kurdish refugee who moved to Albany with his family in 1999, is in jail without bond while awaiting trial on charges related to an FBI counterterrorism sting. He has denied any connections to terrorism. But federal authorities paint him as an intelligent religious scholar with strong ties to some of the world's most notorious terrorists, including Mullah Krekar, the founder of a violent Iraqi terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaida. The FBI report on bin Laden is undated and heavily redacted. It states that an informant told the FBI that during October 2001 he was approached by someone soliciting intelligence about "flight training schools, access to airports in (redacted)" and information about "how close the individual could get to an aircraft." The informant said he was instructed that any information could be distributed to "brothers" through two phone numbers in Damascus, Syria. One of the numbers was called repeatedly by Aref from his Albany home, according to federal authorities. Aref's attorney, Terence L. Kindlon, said the information is "meaningless" because the number appears to have been the headquarters for Islamic Movement for Kurdistan (IMK), which had an office in Damascus where Aref once worked after fleeing Iraq. "He called IMK all the time," Kindlon said. "He had friends there, guys he went to college with." Still, federal authorities are using the information to bolster their allegations that Aref lied on his visa application about whether he had any ties to political groups. The immigration violation -- for allegedly lying on his residency application -- was added to the counterterrorism charges for federal authorities to be able to introduce Aref's overseas' ties into the case. "Aref kept his IMK affiliation hidden and secret, specifically omitting any reference to the IMK in his 1999 refugee application," according to a memorandum filed by the Justice Department. "Aref has had contacts with terrorists and discussions about terrorist acts." In addition to the alleged connection to Osama bin Laden's terror network, documents released Tuesday indicate that Aref's name, Albany address and telephone number were found in several suspected terrorist strongholds during the war in Iraq. One of the facilities was raided in March 2003 and had been occupied by Krekar's group, Ansar al-Islam. U.S. forces discovered evidence that terror groups had tried to produce deadly toxins there, according to a government report. More information was also released by the government Tuesday about a suspected terrorist camp in that was bombed by coalition forces in June 2003. The unclassified records indicate the camp had been occupied by heavily-armed Ansar al-Islam members carrying various military manuals. A notebook found in the camp contained Aref's name and Albany address, along with Krekar's contact information in Europe, according to the report. Kindlon again downplayed the significance. "Just because you find somebody's name someplace, it doesn't mean anything at all," Kindlon said. "It's where he's from. This is a guy who used to speak to thousands of people at the same time. ... He was a (religious) prodigy. The fact that his name exists in different places throughout the country of his birth means nothing." It's routine for government prosecutors to release criminal history reports of people they intend to call as witnesses at trial. Other records unsealed by the government included criminal history reports for two men, one on a terrorist watch list, who had attended the Masjid As Salam mosque on Central Avenue where Aref is the spiritual leader. One of the men, a 26-year-old ex-convict named John Earl Johnson, was arrested by Albany police in December 2001 as he exited the mosque carrying a rifle. A year later, Johnson was arrested again while driving on the New York State Thruway in Herkimer in a van that authorities say was loaded with weapons and computer discs containing terrorism-related manuals. The manuals included information on how to make fertilizer bombs, nitroglycerine, cyanide, chorine gas and letter bombs. Johnson, who has served at least two prison terms, was also arrested in Afghanistan in March 2000 carrying similar computer discs, according to the FBI report and law enforcement sources. The other individual whose criminal history was released by the FBI Tuesday is Ali Mounnes Yaghi, a former pizza shop worker who helped establish the Central Avenue mosque and took part in hiring Aref there. Yaghi is now on a terrorism watch list, according to the records. Yaghi, who was deported to his native Jordan in July 2002, was jailed as a federal detainee for almost a year after the Sept. 11 attacks as the FBI investigated whether he or any of his acquaintances had connections to terrorist cells or attacks on the World Trade Center. FBI agents said Yaghi failed a polygraph examination during an interrogation in which he was shown photographs of the 19 hijackers and asked whether he knew any of them. But Yaghi was never connected to any terrorist plot before being deported. However, according to a source close to Aref's case, Yaghi contacted the FBI after Aref's arrest and pledged to cooperate in the current investigation. The new information provides more details about why the FBI launched a sting three years ago targeting Aref. Aref and Mohammed Hossain, an Albany pizza shop owner and co-founder of the mosque, were ensnared in an FBI sting and accused of taking part in a plot to make money from the sale of missile launchers to terrorists. The plot was not real and was created by the FBI, which used an informant to allegedly lure the men into the deal. Officials have not accused Hossain of being connected to any terrorist groups. He is free on bond, as both men await trial. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |