Four held for terrorist plot

2005-09-01 20:46

Los Angeles - The head of a radical Islamic prison gang and three others were indicted on federal charges of planning terrorist attacks against United States military facilities, the Israeli consulate and other Los Angeles-area targets.

The four conspired to wage war against the US government through terrorism, kill armed service members and murder foreign officials, among other charges, according to the Wednesday indictment.

Named in the indictment were Levar Haley Washington, 25, Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, Hammad Riaz Samana, 21, and Kevin James, 29.

Prosecutors contend the plot was orchestrated by Washington, Patterson and Samana at the behest of James, an inmate at the California state prison - Sacramento who founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh.

'Maximum casualties'

Washington, Patterson and Samana - who attended the same Inglewood mosque - allegedly conducted surveillance of military facilities, the Israeli consulate and synagogues in the Los Angeles area as well as internet research on Jewish holidays.

Law enforcement officials have previously said the military facilities included national guard sites.

The attacks were to be carried out with firearms and other weapons at synagogues during Jewish holidays "to maximise the number of casualties", authorities said.

Patterson allegedly bought a .223-calibre rifle in July.

In Los Angeles, authorities said the suspects could have attacked as soon as the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday in October.

Funding attacks

To finance the attacks, prosecutors said, Washington, Patterson and Samana robbed a string of gas stations in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

The case arose after Washington and Patterson were arrested on July 5 by police in Torrance, Los Angeles, for investigation of robbing the gas stations.

Counter-terrorism officials began investigating after police who searched Washington's apartment in the robbery case said they found a list of possible terrorism targets. Samana, a student from Pakistan, was taken into federal custody on August 2.

Defendants faces life imprisonment

James - known as Shakyh Shahaab Murshid, among other aliases - founded JIS in 1997 while imprisoned for an attempted-robbery conviction in Los Angeles County, prosecutors said.

He preached that the duty of JIS members was to attack enemies of Islam.

Washington was paroled in November 2004, around the time authorities say he joined James' group.

James then instructed Washington to recruit five members without felony convictions and train them to conduct covert operations; acquire firearms with silencers; and appoint a group member to help produce remotely activated explosives, prosecutors claim.

The defendants face life in prison if convicted of conspiring to kill uniformed members of the US military. Another count the men face, seditious conspiracy, has not been widely used in terrorism cases.

- AP