Free Republic

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- Two leaders of a mosque in Albany, New York, were arrested on charges stemming from an alleged plot to help a man they thought was a terrorist who wanted to purchase a shoulder-fired missile, federal authorities said Thursday.

(CBS/AP) Two men were arrested in Albany, N.Y. early Thursday on suspicion of planning to buy shoulder-launched missiles, CBS News has learned. Federal agents and city police picked up the men during an overnight raid on a mosque, with armed officers sealing off a block in downtown for several hours. The men, Yassim Muhhidin Aref, 34 yr, Imam of the Majid Al Salam mosque; and Mohammed Mosharref Hoosain, 49, founder of the mosque, are suspected of ties to the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam, CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reports. The arrests were the result of a long-running FBI operation....

August 5, 2004, 6:48 AM EDT ALBANY, N.Y. -- Federal agents and city police raided a Muslim mosque overnight Wednesday, with armed officers sealing off a block in downtown Albany for several hours. Authorities declined to immediately discuss the raid at Masjid As-Salam mosque. An FBI spokesman said a press conference was tentatively set Thursday afternoon in Washington. Some mosque members held morning prayers Thursday on a nearby sidewalk. WTEN-TV reported two men were arrested and are suspected of providing material support for terrorism. Calls to the U.S. attorney's office were not immediately returned. On Tuesday, William Chase, special agent...