Thursday, March 22, 2007
Prosecutors allege planning meetings took place at a Muslim convention in Cleveland.
TOLEDO (AP) -- A Chicago man pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges that he plotted with three men from Ohio to recruit and train terrorists to attack U.S. and allied troops overseas.
Khaleel Ahmed, 26, of Chicago, was arraigned in U.S. District Court.
He and his cousin, Zubair A. Ahmed, 27, of suburban North Chicago, were arrested Feb. 21 on federal charges of conspiring to kill Americans overseas. Both men are U.S. citizens.
Prosecutors said, between June 2004 and February 2006, the cousins and the other three men -- Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, and Wassim I. Mazloum -- conspired to "kill or maim persons in locations outside of the United States, to including U.S. armed forces personnel serving in Iraq."
The conspiracy allegedly included finding recruits to commit terrorist acts and seeking out sites for training in firearms, hand-to-hand combat and the use of explosives, according to the indictment. The men also allegedly agreed to raise funds for training and download Internet information on improvised explosive devices.
About the allegations
Prosecutors said that in 2004 the cousins met with El-Hindi and a former U.S. military man who federal prosecutors say helped foil the alleged plot.
They met at a Muslim convention in Cleveland and talked about sniper tactics, counter-surveillance techniques and the use of heavy machine guns.
Ahmed, wearing a brown prison jumpsuit Wednesday, spoke briefly during the hearing, saying he had not yet read the indictment. His attorney, Brian Sieve, said he had explained the charges to his client.
Sieve said after the hearing that he has not received any additional information from the government about why Ahmed was charged.
Ahmed, through his attorney, asked to be released on electronic monitoring and home confinement because he has no prior convictions. Another hearing on the request was set for April 9.
Sieve told Judge James Carr that Ahmed wasn't a flight risk, noting that he hasn't been in any trouble over the two years since prosecutors allege he met with the others about the plot.
"We've gone more than two years with him living a law-abiding life in Chicago with no problems," Sieve said.
The three Ohio men all from the Toledo area were charged in February 2006. All three have pleaded innocent.
The five men face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted of conspiring to kill Americans overseas, according to federal prosecutors.
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