Information found in Iraq led federal investigators to become suspicious of an Albany, N.Y., mosque leader, FOX News has learned.
Last summer, U.S. troops discovered Yassin Muhhiddin Aref's name, telephone number and address in a book left behind in a vacated terrorist training camp, a U.S. official told FOX News. The book also revealed that Ansar al-Islam, the group running the camp, had given Aref a title:"the commander."
Aref, 34, is the Imam of the Masjid As-Salam mosque in Albany, N.Y. He and one other mosque leader were arrested Thursday and charged with helping an undercover informant posing as a weapons dealer who was plotting to buy a shoulder-launched missile that would be used to kill the Pakistani ambassador in New York City.
Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain, the 49-year-old founder of the mosque and owner of the local Little Italy Pizzeria, were allegedly collaborating with someone who was not a terrorist but an informant participating in a sting operation; no missile ever was exchanged.
Earlier on Thursday, law enforcement officials said the men had possible ties to Ansar al-Islam, which has been linked to Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terror network. However, that link was not noted in court documents.
Ansar al-Islam has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings, kidnappings and killings in Iraq, and has ties to the U.S.-led coalition's most-wanted terrorist there, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Deputy Attorney General James Comey declined to discuss any alleged ties but said more information about their backgrounds may come out in court proceedings.
Gov. George Pataki hailed the arrests as a victory in the War on Terror.
"The fact is, there are terrorists among us who want to engage in acts to attack us again and take away our freedom," Pataki said in a news conference Thursday afternoon. "Our government, our administration in Washington … and local officials are taking this threat to our freedom very seriously and will continue to be aggressive and proactive against those who would wish to do us harm."
The arrests were in large part due to tips from the public, Pataki and Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings said. Within the past two years, there have been several arrests in the Buffalo and Syracuse areas of people suspected of having terror ties, including the so-called Lackawanna Six.
"Ultimately, this war against terror … depends on the eyes and ears of the people of America and the people of New York," Pataki said.
Saying the tipsters "know who they are," Jennings said: "We want people to feel good about what happened today because we are on top of it, we are being proactive … to make sure our communities are safe."
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Authorities said the men were paid $65,000 in checks and cash to purchase a missile and disguise the source of the money involved.
The men are charged money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to conceal material support for terrorism. Both could face up to 70 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.
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The FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agents executed search warrants at the mosque and two Albany-area residences. Officials said the arrests have nothing to do with the U.S. government raising the terror alert level for New York, Washington, D.C., and Northern New Jersey on Sunday.
The informant told the men he was associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed), an Islamic extremist group in Pakistan that the U.S. government considers a terrorist organization....
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The investigation has been going on for a year, officials said, and several searches in the Albany area related to Thursday's arrests are being conducted.
Comey stressed to reporters Thursday afternoon that the case is not connected to the current terrorist threat and the men charged weren't necessarily plotting terrorist violence.
"This is not the case of the century," he said. "That does not mean, however, that this is not an important case ... We hope it will send a disrupting message to those out there who might be plotting to harm this country ... our agents and informants are putting a full-court press on in this country and around the world."
Although Comey was questioned as to whether Aref and Hossain were entrapped for no good reason, the government official said there is more to the story that will soon be revealed.
"We believe there was ample predication for this investigation ... this is a good case, a solid case, and it sends a message," Comey said.
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The criminal complaint says that during the summer of 2003, when the probe began, the FBI monitored and recorded most of the conversations between the FBI's informant and Aref and Hossain.
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The informant cited had been previously arrested in Albany and had pleaded guilty to a felony related to the fraudulent acquisition of documents. The informant, not a U.S. citizen,is cooperating in the hopes of getting a reduced sentence and has provided information leading to other arrests.
Some mosque members held morning prayers Thursday on a nearby sidewalk; they weren't allowed to enter the building, which is located at 276 Central Ave. near the corner of N. Lake Ave., just a few blocks from Washington Park. The mosque's name means "house of peace."
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The arrests were the second such get for law enforcement when it comes to shoulder-fired missiles.
Hemant S. Lakhani, 68, was arrested last August after he tried to buy an anti-aircraft missile in Newark from an undercover agent working with the FBI. Lakhani thought he was dealing with a man representing a Somali terrorist group.
Prosecutors said more than 150 covertly recorded conversations prove that the Indian-born British citizen was trying to deal arms to terrorists.
Also arrested in August were Yehuda Abraham, 76, a New York diamond dealer, and an Indian citizen, Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed, 38.
Wow. Great work again on the FBI's part (combined with the intell we got from our military in Iraq!)
It's clearer all the time that Iraq is exactly where we need to be and also that we are indeed fighting a global war on terrorism as all of the recent "gets" and busts seem to involve jihadis in 2 or more foreign countries, as well as our own or that of our allies, all of which span the globe.
To hear the Left and the Dimocrats tell it, we're not accomplishing anything for purposes of our own security by being in Iraq, but this is just one instance of how taking on the enemy over there, protects us over here and illustrates vividly that Iraq (and Afghanistan also) has been serving as the "flypaper" for them to fight us in a place and at a time of our choosing.
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