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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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