Sunday, June 6, 2010

Two terrorist recruits busted at JFK airport


Two New Jersey men allegedly bent on waging holy war against the US were arrested last night at JFK airport as they prepared to board separate flights to Egypt to join an Al Qaeda-linked group, according to a report.

Federal and local authorities, including the NYPD, also raided the North Bergen home of Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, and the Elmwood Park residence of Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, the Newark Star-Ledger said.

The suspects were nabbed as they walked onto the jetway boarding ramps for separate flights. The arrests had been planned for days, according to the report.

The home of one of Carlos Eduardo Almonte, one of the men arrested at JFK airport as he tried to board a plane bound for Egypt.
During a lengthy investigation, an NYPD undercover officer recorded conversations with the men in which they spoke about jihad against Americans.

"I leave this time. God willing, I never come back," authorities say Alessa told the officer last year. "Only way I would come back here is if I was in the land of jihad and the leader ordered me to come back here and do something here. Ah, I love that."

Sources said that the suspects' families dropped the dime on their relatives after they grew concerned about their increasingly radical beliefs.

The men had reportedly led fairly normal lives until recently, but boasted that they wanted to wage holy war against the US both here and abroad.

In the past few months, the duo had saved thousands of dollars, worked-out, practiced tactical maneuvers at local paintball fields and bought gear and apparel they would use to fight Americans overseas.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/terror_bust_at_jfk_bBqbOiCzKSgkcT6M5C829M#ixzz0q64l5dbd