Two Algerians charged in Seattle for planning Y2K attacks
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Saturday, January 22, 2000
WASHINGTON -- Two Algerian nationals have been charged with planning
to bomb buildings in the United States as part of millennium attacks linked
to Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden.
Ahmed Ressam and fugitive Abdelmajid Dahoumane were charged with
conspiring to destroy or damage property by placing explosives near
structures supporting foreign or interstate commerce. The new charges were
filed in federal district court in Seattle on Thursday and carry maximum
penalties of 90 years in prison.
Authorities said the bombing plot was first conceived in 1997.
The two defendants, both 32, are believed to be part of an Islamic
Algerian terrorist cell that tried to infiltrate the United States from
Canada to launch attacks. Ressam was arrested Dec. 14 after crossing into
Washington state by ferry from Canada.
All of the suspects in custody are being held without bail.
Meanwhile, new information has emerged on the activities of Khalil Deek,
a U.S. citizen charged in Jordan with planning terrorist attacks against
U.S. facilities. Deek, a Palestinian, is said to be an associate of Bin
Laden.
Deek's relatives in the United States have been questioned by federal
agents. They include Tawfik, a chemical engineer in Anaheim, California.
Counterterrorism expert Steven Emerson said Deek is linked to the
Islamic Association for Palestine believed by the FBI to be a front for
Hamas.
Saturday, January 22, 2000
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