Kinda cold in Minneapolis for sand people, isn't it?
Authorities in Minneapolis on Tuesday arrested and jailed a man suspected of associating with the Al-Qaida terrorist network and having knowledge of some of the activities of Zacarias Moussaoui. The official said the detainee has confirmed some of investigators’ suspicions about Moussaoui, who was arrested while learning to fly a Boeing 747 jet at an Eagan flight school two years ago and now is the subject of the only U.S. prosecution related to the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The jailed man, whose name was withheld, has described Moussaoui’s activities at an Al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan several years ago. Members of the FBI’s local Joint Terrorism Task Force made the arrest in Minneapolis after a lengthy investigation. But the detainee’s identity was kept off the public roster of inmates at the Hennepin County jail, and other details surrounding his apprehension could not immediately be learned. The suspect was served with an arrest warrant Tuesday and brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Earl Cudd, but the proceedings were sealed. Roseann Campagnoli, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, referred callers to the U.S. attorney’s office. Thomas Heffelfinger, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, blew them off declined to comment.
| It sounds like they've got somebody significant and don't want anybody jiggling their elblow. Ibrahim Hooper has probably calved by now... |
Tuesday’s arrest marked only the latest in a series of federal counterterrorism activities in Minnesota, beginning with Moussaoui’s arrest on an immigration charge about 3 weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks. In November 2001, federal agents raided five Minneapolis money-transfer operations as part of a global effort to cut off Al-Qaida’s funding. While the government later backed away from two of those cases, it continues to block the accounts of Al-Barakaat, a money-transfer network that Twin Cities Somalis relied on to send money home to their relatives. On Sept. 20, 2002, the FBI arrested three men in Hong Kong, including 55-year-old Ilyas Ali of St. Paul, in a sting operation. The three were later indicted on charges they plotted to swap large quantities of heroin and hashish for shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. They allegedly told undercover FBI agents they planned to sell the missiles to the Taliban, the former Afghan ruling militia that is allied with Al-Qaida. The United States is seeking Ali’s extradition.
| But we're taking our time at it, while the Chinese discuss matters with them... |
In November 2002, authorities identified a Minneapolis man arrested in North Carolina as the alleged leader of a Detroit terrorist cell that had videotaped U.S. landmarks, including Disneyland and the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The man, Abel-Ilah Elmardoudi, a Moroccan citizen, and three others were charged with conspiring to provide material support for Al-Qaida plans to attack the United States, including providing the network with stolen telephone calling card numbers and fake visas. In June, Elmardoudi was found guilty of conspiracy to commit material support to terrorism against the United States. |