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| Dupe URL: FBI informant says Triangle terrorist cell leader intent on jihad | |
| 2011-09-23 | |
| An FBI informant testified Wednesday that the man accused of heading up a terrorist cell in the Triangle routinely spoke about waging a holy war. The informant, a Muslim of Moroccan descent who goes by the code name "Jawbreaker," told a federal jury in New Bern that he got so close to Daniel Patrick Boyd that he was with him at the time of his arrest in July 2009. Boyd pleaded guilty in February to charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons in a foreign country. He is expected to be a key witness in the trial of three other men charged in the case. Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, Ziyad Yaghi and Hysen Sherifi face multiple felony charges related to allegations they conspired to attack targets overseas. Sherifi also is accused of plotting an attack on the Marine base in Quantico, Va. A federal indictment unsealed in 2009 alleges that eight Triangle men raised money to buy assault weapons and conduct training exercises and that they arranged overseas travel and contacts to help others carry out violent acts on behalf of a radical jihadist political agenda. In audio recordings of conversations between Boyd and Jawbreaker that were played in court, Boyd talked about his intentions to attack Quantico. He spoke of how easy it would be to get on the base because it's also a city. "I did some preliminary reconnaissance, and what I saw was amazing. I saw the residences of all their commanding officers," Boyd said in one recording, adding that Sherifi was in on the plan. Jawbreaker said Boyd was intensely loyal to Afghanistan, where he traveled in 1989 to join the fight against Soviet occupation. Boyd always wanted to fight non-Muslims, the informant said. "Every single day, it was about jihad and fighting," Jawbreaker testified. An FBI search of Boyd's Willow Spring home in 2009 turned up about two dozen guns and more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition.
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| Posted by:lotp |