US charges seven with terrorism

bbzhao2002

US charges seven with terrorism  

Mr Boyd, officials say, encouraged his two sons to fight violent jihad
Seven people in the US state of North Carolina have been charged with plotting terror attacks abroad, including Israel and Jordan.

Prosecutors say the alleged ringleader Daniel Boyd, 39, trained in Afghanistan and fought there between 1989 and 1992.

They say he then set up his own training and fundraising organisation, and even recruited his two sons.

The seven are accused of conspiring to kill, kidnap and maim but not of carrying out actual attacks.

There has been no reported response from the defendants.

Mr Boyd lived in a lakeside home near Raleigh, North Carolina, from where he ran a dry-stone walling business.

His sons, aged 20 and 22, are among those charged.

'Military practice'

The indictment says Mr Boyd is a veteran of training camps for militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan.



Mr Boyd lived in a lakeside home in rural North Carolina
"Over the past three years, [he] has conspired with others in this country to recruit and help young men travel overseas in order to kill," said David Kris, of the US Department of Justice.

According to the indictment, from late 2006 until at least July 2009, Mr Boyd and the other defendants engaged in a conspiracy to advance violent jihad abroad.

They arranged weapons training, funding and travel for others who wished to fight overseas, the indictment says.

It does not describe any specific attack plans, but says Mr Boyd and several other defendants travelled to Israel in June 2007 in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to engage in violent jihad.

Another defendant, Ziyad Yaghi, 21, is said to have travelled to Jordan in October 2006 to commit violent acts.

According to prosecutors, the defendants practiced military tactics in North Carolina in June and July 2009.

It is not the first case of its kind in the US. In May this year, five men were convicted of conspiring to blow up the Sears tower in Chicago.

In January 2008, Muslim convert Jose Padilla was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for plotting to kill people overseas and of supporting terrorism.