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Homegrown terrorist Jeffrey Leon Battle considered America the “land of the kaffirs,” or unbelievers, and the American people “pigs.” He once lamented to an acquaintance—who happened to be a government informant—that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks did not sufficiently damage the U.S. economy. “This is the land of the enemy,” he said of his own country in a May 8, 2002, conversation secretly recorded by the government. He explained to a friend how his “burning desire” to become an Islamic martyr had inspired his aborted quest to join forces with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, where he could kill American...

Terror charges dropped The FBI officially confirmed the death of Habis Abdulla Al Saoub, the alleged ringleader of teh Portland Seven. Federal authorities have dismissed their case against the ringleader of a Portland militant Islamic group nine months after the man was reported killed in a shootout in Pakistan. The US Attorney's Office filed a motion today to drop the case against Habis Abdulla Al Saoub, one of the so-called Portland Seven. With the filing, authorities have resolved all outstanding charges in the case of a group of Portland area Muslims who tried to travel to Afghanistan to fight against...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The final three members of a group of Muslim men from the Portland area who tried to enter Afghanistan to join the Taliban were each sentenced to prison time Monday.They were among six men and one woman accused of conspiring to wage war on the United States.Palestinian-born Maher Hawash, 39, was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison. Ahmed Bilal, 25, was sentenced to 10 years and his brother, Muhammad, 23, was sent to prison for eight years.All were given reduced terms because they cooperated with authorities.``I do not blame anybody else except myself,'' Hawash said...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2003 (202) 514-2008WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514 - 1888 TWO DEFENDANTS IN 'PORTLAND CELL' CASE PLEAD GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO CONTRIBUTE SERVICES TO THE TALIBAN, FEDERAL WEAPONS CHARGES WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft, Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael W. Mosman of the District of Oregon announced today that Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal and Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal, two defendants in the so-called "Portland cell" case, have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to provide services to the Taliban, and conspiracy to possess and discharge firearms in...

FBI affidavit alleges imam bankrolled plot 08/23/03 LES ZAITZ One of six men charged with trying to join the Taliban and kill U.S. soldiers said Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, leader of Portland's largest mosque, funded the overseas trip with $12,000 that came from mosque members, according to a newly released FBI affidavit. Defendant Jeffrey Battle also was secretly recorded telling how Kariye, religious leader of the Islamic Center of Portland, participated in a prayer session at the mosque with the group just before the men left and later directed them to return if they couldn't get into Afghanistan, the affidavit said....

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A federal grand jury has indicted seven people from the Portland area accused of conspiring to join the al-Qaida and Taliban terrorist organizations to wage war on the United States in Afghanistan. Six people were charged last fall and the seventh, Maher "Mike" Hawash, was taken into custody as a material witness last month before he was charged. The indictment lists Hawash along with Jeffrey Battle, Patrice Lumumba Ford, brothers Ahmed and Muhammad Bilal, Habis al Saoub and October Martinique Lewis. All but al Saoub are in federal custody. The indictment issued Friday supersedes previous indictments...

U.S. Charges 6 in al-Qaida Plot Fri Oct 4, 1:45 PM ET By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Six people, including a former U.S. reservist, were charged with trying to travel to Afghanistan ( news - web sites) after the Sept. 11 attacks and join forces with al Qaida and the Taliban against the United States. U.S. Arrests 6 on Terror Charges (AP Video) Attorney General John Ashcroft ( news - web sites), announcing the arrests of four of of them at a Justice Department ( news - web sites) news conference Friday, called it a "defining...

U.S. Arrests 6 on Terror Charges Fri Oct 4, 1:21 PM ET By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Authorities arrested six men Friday in Oregon and Michigan on charges they conspired to wage war on the United States and provide support to al-Qaida. Attorney General John Ashcroft ( news - web sites), announcing the arrests at a Justice Department ( news - web sites) news conference, called it a "defining day" in the fight against terrorism. Ashcroft noted the sentencing in federal court Friday of John Walker Lindh and the guilty plea in Boston from accused shoe-bomber...