11 charged in plot to join terror group

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Eleven men, nine of them U.S. citizens, were charged with conspiring to join a Muslim extremist terror group that has been blamed for thousands of deaths in the disputed Kashmir territory of India and Pakistan.

A federal indictment unsealed Friday contends the men, who lived in suburban Fairfax County just south of Washington from early 2000 to May, obtained AK-47-style assault weapons and ammunition, trained in military tactics and visited terrorist camps in Pakistan linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, dedicated to driving India out of Kashmir.

Six of the men were arrested Friday, two were in custody earlier and three were being sought.

U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty called the indictment "a stark reminder that terrorist organizations of various allegiances are active in the United States. And these groups exploit America's freedom as a weapon to recruit and position themselves on our shores."

McNulty said Lashkar-e-Taiba has claimed responsibility for the deaths of 14,000 Indian soldiers and more than 300 civilians. The group, which appears on the State Department's international terror list, was behind the Dec. 13, 2001, attack on India's Parliament that killed 12.

There have been reports of links between the group and al-Qaida, McNulty said. Although the indictment does not allege any plots to stage attacks here, it does say members were told U.S. troops in Afghanistan were legitimate targets and "the United States was the greatest enemy of Muslims."

The 11 were charged with conspiracy, a variety of firearms violations and attempting to mount a military attack against a friendly nation, India.

Six were arrested Friday by the FBI: Mohammed Aatique, 30, a Pakistani national and U.S. visa holder, in Philadelphia; Masoud Ahmad Khan, 31, and Donald Thomas Surratt, 30, both U.S. citizens, in Baltimore; and U.S. citizens Randall Todd Royer, 30; Hammad Abdur-Raheem, 29; and Caliph Basha Ibn Abdur-Raheem, 29, in northern Virginia.

Two had previously been taken into custody: Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi, 25, a Yemeni national; and Yong Ki Kwon, 27, a naturalized U.S. citizen from South Korea.

Three U.S. citizens are thought to be in Saudi Arabia: Seifullah Chapman, 30; Khwaja Mahmood Hasan, 27; and Sabri Benkhala, 28.

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