SEATTLE PI.com (AP): "FOUR CHARGED IN SENDING MILLIONS TO IRAQ" (ARTICLE SNIPPETS: "The four men are accused of using the charity to solicit contributions from people in the United States, depositing money in central New York banks and laundering much of it through the Jordan Islamic Bank in Amman. Charged were oncologist Dr. Rafil Dhafir, 55, of Fayetteville, N.Y., a U.S. citizen born in Iraq; Maher Zagha, 34, a Jordanian who attended college locally; Ayman Jarwan, 33, of Syracuse, a Jordanian citizen born in Saudi Arabia who worked as the executive director of Help the Needy; Osameh Al Wahaidy, 41, of Fayetteville, a Jordanian citizen employed as a spiritual leader at the Auburn Correctional Facility and a math instructor at the State University of New York at Oswego." ... "The separate indictment involves Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, a citizen of Saudi Arabia who is a graduate student at the University of Idaho. He was arrested Wednesday in Moscow, Idaho, and charged with supporting the Michigan-based Islamic Assembly of North America. Al-Hussayen allegedly supplied money from overseas sources and computer expertise. He is charged with failing to disclose his relationship with the group, which, if revealed, would have resulted in the government rejecting his visa application, prosecutors said. Web sites operated by the Islamic Assembly praise suicide bombings and tout the use of airplanes as terror weapons, the government said.") (February 26, 2003)
ISLAMIC GROUP TIED TO IRAQ BLACKLISTED" by Stewart Bell ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Also sanctioned by Ottawa yesterday was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a warlord and former Afghan president allied with the Taliban and al-Qaeda who last fall declared a holy war to drive foreign troops out of Afghanistan. Canadian soldiers heading to Afghanistan this summer for a peacekeeping mission could face guerrilla attacks from Hekmatyar's forces, who have been battling U.S. and Afghan troops in recent weeks, Ansar al-Islam, also known as the Kurdistan Taliban or the Soldiers of God, was formed in Iraq with up to US$600,000 provided by Osama bin Laden, who gave his blessing to the group after its leaders visited Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001. Composed of ethnic Kurds, Arabs and Pashtuns, the group is the suspected link between Saddam and al-Qaeda. Although based in the Kurdish region outside Baghdad's control, Ansar closely works with al-Qaeda and the Iraqi regime, which has an agent serving in the senior levels of the organization.") (February 26, 2003)
***WASHINGTON TIMES.com (AP): "WARLORD URGES MUSLIMS TO ATTACK TROOPS" by Kathy Gannon (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Afghan rebel commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar echoed Osama bin Laden's call for suicide attacks against Americans and said he is proud the United States has branded him a terrorist, according to a statement obtained yesterday. Calling the United States the "big Satan of the world," Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister, also vowed jihad (holy war) against U.S. troops in Afghanistan. American forces are combing parts of eastern Afghanistan for Hekmatyar, his loyalists and Taliban and al Qaeda fugitives.") (February 24, 2003)
***ISLAM ONLINE.net: "HEKMATYAR URGES CONTINUED JIHAD AGAINST U.S." (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "He underlined that anyone who did not believe in Jihad as an obligatory duty against the Americans was ignorant about the basics of Islam.") (February 20, 2003)