Two Chicago men arrested on charges of planning, recruiting for "violent jihad"

OHIO.COM ^ | Feb. 21, 2007 | MIKE ROBINSON

[do the dhue]

CHICAGO - Two Chicago-area cousins were arrested Wednesday on federal charges out of Cleveland accusing them of conspiring to wage holy war against Americans overseas, including U.S. military forces in Iraq.

Zubair A. Ahmed, 27, of suburban North Chicago, and Khaleel Ahmed, 26, of Chicago, were accused along with three other men from the Toledo, Ohio, area who already had been under indictment on charges of plotting acts of terrorism against Americans overseas.

The fresh indictment returned by a grand jury in Cleveland added the two Chicago-area men to the roster of defendants and brought additional charges against the three men from Ohio.

The cousins, both American citizens, appeared briefly in Chicago before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown, who ordered them sent to Ohio for arraignment. Prosecutors asked her to order them held in custody and sent to Ohio as federal prisoners. Defense attorneys asked for bond.

A hearing on whether to permit bond was set for 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Defense attorneys Gerald Collins and Brian Sieve said they had just met the two defendants, knew little about them and had no comment on the case.

The indictment claims that, between June 2004 and February 2006, the cousins and the other three men - Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 27, and Marwan Othman El-Hindi, 42, both formerly of Toledo, Ohio, and Wassim I. Mazloum, 22, formerly of Sylvania, Ohio - conspired to "kill or maim persons in locations outside of the United States, to including U.S. armed forces personnel serving in Iraq."

The conspiracy allegedly included finding fresh recruits to commit terrorist acts and seeking out sites for training in firearms, hand-to-hand combat and the use of explosives. The men also allegedly agreed to raise funds for "jihad training" and download Internet information on improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

A shadowy figure was described in the indictment only as the trainer, a U.S. citizen with a military background. The indictment said the two cousins met with the trainer in July 2004 and discussed sniper tactics, counter-surveillance techniques and the use of heavy machine guns.

The three Ohio men, currently in federal custody, were charged in the original indictment with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Amawi was also charged with verbally threatening the president of the United States and unlawful distribution of a video concerning suicide bomber vests.

Wednesday's indictment charged Amawi with distributing information about explosive chemicals downloaded from the Internet and charged El-Hindi with distributing information about explosives and making false statements to officials.

The five men face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted of conspiring to kill Americans overseas, according to federal prosecutors.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Cleveland said a separate indictment was returned charging Bilal Mazloum, 22, of Sylvania, Ohio, brother of Wassim I. Mazloum, with making a false statement to federal agents.

In addition, El-Hindi and Ashraf Zaim, 39, of Ottawa Hills, Ohio, are charged in a separate, seven-count indictment with conspiring to commit theft of public funds, making false statements and wire fraud in connection with a $40,000 federal grant they obtained to operate clinics for low-income taxpayers.

The government contends that no clinics were ever operated.

[do the dhue]

an inner struggle, which is pure nonsense.

I concur. I think it is more of a struggle against the West.

[LasVegasMac]

Nice pic, thanks.

[proudCArepublican]

Okay the map is really making me fearful. I live right in the Silcon Valley area People wake up

[RushCrush]

Just a few blocks from where I live.

Dimmocrat voters, no doubt.

Get me outta this city!

[proudCArepublican]

Interesting OK City. Hum

[Dengar01]

I bet you they are from Bridgeview.

[Dengar01]

Bears fans, no doubt...

Drop dead moron.

[do the dhue]

I was born in Baltimore and raised in Indiana. I've been a Colt fan all my life. I needed this Super Bowl. You have no idea. Anyway, I am sure they are not Bears fan. I am sure they had posters of Bin Laden and not Brian Urlacher. I am sure that Redbob was trying to pass humor.

In any case, these people are traitors and I want to see them rot or fry.

[Arcy]

It's a bit late for immigration reform. The damage has been done and the bad guys are already here.

Bush likes to tout there hasn't been an attack on our soil in yada yada yada. We'll that's because they're busy preparing. The INS knows they're here, but they're more interested in electing a democrat than rounding up the thousands of "Mohammed's" and "Akbar's" roaming the country.

The terrorists, I believe, are working on a device right here under our noses. I can picture them bringing in additional components to be used in its construction. They walk across the border with whatever it is they need. Small parts that by themselves look useless. But when assembled with other seemingly useless parts, together, they go 'bang'.

Bush likes to remind us that he sent 6,000 Nat'l Guard troops to the border. He purposely forgets to tell you that he won't let them defend it. Bush's regard for securing the border is less than serious. In fact, it's tantamount to welcoming an attack.

He's fond of saying "you're either with us, or against us". We'll, GW, I wish you were with us. Do what we elected you to do. Protect this country. Quit the mealy mouth and get with it. FIX the border problem NOW! If this country gets HIT, I will ever forget that it occurred on YOUR watch.

[familyop]

Reports like that are coming in almost daily now, and our nation still doesn't have the will to fight. Iran further builds its military forces and military alliances as we do nothing about it.

[brityank]

We need to amend the Constitution ...

The 'Anchor Baby' is not constitutional now -- it was vreated out of the "penumbra's" of a warped lawyer's brain.Here's what is needed -- fat chance of getting it passed:

WHEREAS: The Fourteenth Amendment was proposed and ratified immediately following the Civil War, and

WHEREAS: It was specifically drafted to prevent any governing body from disenfranchising all current US Residents as of its date of enactment, and

WHEREAS: It specifically noted that said US Residents were "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" of the United States and of the State wherein they reside, and

WHEREAS: Said "jurisdiction" was acquired through prior and current legal means of Immigration, Indentured Servitude, or Slavery:

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: That no one shall be granted Citizenship by Birth unless one of the Birth Parents has current Citizenship in these United States. Citizenship for issue of Legal Immigrants will be awarded with the Parents acquisition.

[Arcy]

...our nation still doesn't have the will to fight.

Fight? Why would you want to fight? Join the rest of America. We're all willing to be blown up in the interest of multiculturalism. It feels great to be in a rainbow!
Extreme sarcasm.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

"ever"

I know you meant "never".

Amen.

[LukeL]

Funny how most of them are in Blue States. I thought liberals understood and loved Muslims and Islam?

[The Pack Knight]

Note the 'violent' part. I think they're buying into Islamist claims that Jihad CAN be peaceful, an inner struggle, which is pure nonsense.

Exactly. "Violent jihad" is a redundancy, just like "terrorism" is only half a word without "Islamic" in front of it.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Skin them alive.

[familyop]

"Fight? Why would you want to fight? Join the rest of America. We're all willing to be blown up in the interest of multiculturalism. It feels great to be in a rainbow!"

LOL! Maybe you're right. But I'm in a remote place and will have to move to one of our major, anti-American, Democrat...er, I mean cosmopolitan, cultured cities in order to participate. Or I could simply stay here during the attacks and gloat...er, I mean mourn.

[Dengar01]

I was born in Baltimore and raised in Indiana. I've been a Colt fan all my life. I needed this Super Bowl. You have no idea. Anyway, I am sure they are not Bears fan. I am sure they had posters of Bin Laden and not Brian Urlacher. I am sure that Redbob was trying to pass humor.

You didn't have to suffer through the rain at the Superbowl like I did :P

[do the dhue]

You didn't have to suffer for 35 years.

Greatest game I ever saw too. I knew we were not beat after the run back. I said, 'no big deal, we were down by more against the Patriots'. Then Manning's first two passes were almost picked and the third pass was picked. That's when I started to worry. But I must say that we won because of our heart.

When you get knocked down and then you stand back up, you have the heart of a Champion. Ali won his title back three times.

And that should be our heart in Iraq. Tough times never last tough people do. So, what if we get knocked down. You get knocked down in life. You get back up and try something different. And you keep trying. Never wavering, never tiring, never failing, and never faltering.

And let it be know that we have not been knocked down. That is what the media would have you believe. We have lost 3,000 intrepid Troops in four years. We lost 22,000 Soldiers at Antietam in four hours. Over 300,000 Troops gave their lives in the four years of World War II. Over 30,000 in two years of Korea. 58,000 in the ten years of Vietnam. Our Troops have done an outstanding job. They are in the heart of the Middle East. A place that hates our guts and burns out flag and we lost 3,000 Troops. We were told that we would lose 10,000 going to Baghdad. Well, I will let it be know that our Troops have done an outstanding job. I am proud of them all. From the heroes who put themselves in harms way, to the families who work twice as hard at home (because the Trooper is away). Thank God for them all and may He Bless them forever. So, I say so what if the media thinks it is winning. I have the heart of the champion. I will not waver, tire, falter, or fail. Peace and freedom will prevail.

[353FMG]

"The cousins, both American citizens.."


I am constantly told that only a small percentage of Muslims are radical and that the majority are peace-loving, upstanding citizens. Will someone please quantify what is meant with the "majority"? No other group in our society has posed such an immediate threat to our national security, at any time, as Muslims have.