Six Indicted for Plotting Against U.S.
P O R T L A N D, Ore., Oct. 4 -- Several U.S. citizens were arrested today on charges that they plotted to join al Qaeda and fight alongside Taliban forces against the United States in the war in Afghanistan, federal officials said.
Five U.S. citizens, including one with U.S. military training, were among six individuals indicted on charges of conspiring to levy war against the United States, provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations and contribute services to al Qaeda and the Taliban. Four of the suspects were also charged with possession of firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence.
At a Washington, D.C., news conference announcing the indictments, Attorney General John Ashcroft said four suspects were in custody while two remained at large overseas.
"Today is a defining day in America's war against terrorism," Ashcroft said. "We've neutralized a suspected terrorist cell within our borders."
The suspects offered their services to al Qaeda and the Taliban after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Ashcroft said. They allegedly tried to go to Afghanistan to fight against the United States, and allegedly planned to journey through China and Pakistan, but never made it to their final destination.
Ashcroft identified the suspects as Jeffrey Leon Battle, Patrice Lumumba Ford, Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal, Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal, Habis Abdulla al Saoub and October Martinique Lewis. All suspects, who range in age from 22 to 37, were Portland residents at the time of the alleged offenses. All but one are U.S. citizens. Saoub, a Jordanian by birth, is a permanent resident alien of the United States.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Battle, Ford, both Bilals and Saoub acquired firearms and trained in preparation to fight a jihad, Ashcroft alleged. In October 2001, as U.S. troops fought in Afghanistan, the suspects began to travel to Afghanistan to join Taliban and al Qaeda forces fighting U.S. troops.
The five defendants purchased airline tickets to Hong Kong with the intent of traveling to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan via China and Pakistan, Ashcroft said.
