| Shafal Mosed | Shafal Mosed | al-Qaeda | Home Front | 20030513 |
| Terror Networks |
| The Lackawanna Six: A Look Back |
| 2013-05-03 |
| [WKBW] A lengthy investigation led to the arrests of: Yaya Goba, Yasein Taher, Faysal Galab, Shafal Mosed, Sahim Alwan and Mukhtar Al-Bakri. All the men were in their 20's at the time and were American born or naturalized citizens of the United States. The men later pleaded guilty to proving material support to a terrorist organization, cooperated with further investigations and served anywhere from 7 to 10 years in federal prison. More than a decade after their arrests, all of them are free. Many remain in the Western New York Community, married with children. U.S. Attorney William Hochul was the lead prosecutor at the time and says he's actually had conversations with one of the men he helped imprison. "I've engaged in very pleasant conversations with him and his family. I think that is a success of the criminal justice system because while we punish people for what they've done. Once they served their time and acknowledged their own wrong doing, we do need to forgive as well." |
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| Arabia |
| Seventh Member of âLackawanna Sixâ in Custody in Yemen |
| 2004-01-29 |
| The last member of a group of Yemeni-American men from western New York sought by U.S. authorities for attending an al-Qaeda training camp has been taken into custody in Yemen, according to a newspaper report. Jaber Elbaneh was being held by Yemeni authorities, and negotiations are under way for extradition, The New York Times reported in a story for Thursday editions. Oops, itâs a NYT story. Weâll have to wait for a real newspaper for confirmation, Iâll check the National Enquirer. Six men from Lackawanna pleaded guilty last year to aiding a terrorist organization by attending the camp in Afghanistan in 2001. In December, 31-year-old Sahim Alwan was the final member of the âLackawanna Sixâ sentenced to prison, a term of 9 1/2 years. Alwan, along with Faysal Galab, Mukhtar al-Bakri, Yasein Taher, Yahya Goba and Shafal Mosed, accepted plea bargains which compelled them to cooperate in government terrorism investigations. Authorities said there was no evidence the Lackawanna group was involved in planning or participated in any terrorist act. But the investigation into the recruiters, financiers and others who may have traveled with the group continues. Those are the important players. In their pleas, all six described weapons and explosives training and a bin Laden speech to trainees about men on a mission to attack America. A $5 million reward was offered for Elbaneh. Unlike the others, he never returned to Lackawanna after his training in the spring and summer of 2001, investigators said. Which makes him a "person of interest". Lawyers for the Lackawanna Six have said the men were victims of high-pressure recruiters who appealed to their sense of religious duty in convincing them to seek military-style jihad training. Guess you figured that wouldnât fly with a jury, hence the guilty pleas. |
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| âRingleaderâ of Lackawanna Six gets 10 years | ||||
| 2003-12-11 | ||||
| Yahya Goba, considered the organizer of the Lackawanna Six, was Longer would be better, but he did spill his guts.
Yeah, right. Since his plea deal, Goba has cooperated fully with the government, providing valuable insight into al-Qaida and its recruiting methods, Clauss said. Maybe one of his islamic buddies will off him in prison for being a stoolie. Hey, I can dream, canât I? Skretny, though, said he was particularly troubled by Gobaâs actions because Goba had been a Depends on what you consider "distorted". U.S. Attorney Michael A. Battle responded to questions about the $14,000 given by the local man to help finance the trip to Afghanistan. "We are following up on the investigation into the funding of the trip," Battle said. "Itâs still too early to say whether anyone will be charged."
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| 5th Buffalo-area man pleads Guilty |
| 2003-05-13 |
| EFL One of six terror defendants in Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty Monday to "providing material support" to al-Qaida. Yasein Taher of Lackawanna, N.Y., and the other defendants were accused of attending an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan. He was the fifth defendant to plead guilty in the case. Taher pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny in Buffalo to count two of the indictment. The plea agreement requires Taher to cooperate fully with the government's ongoing investigation in this and other terrorism probes. In the plea agreement, Taher admits that in April 2001, he agreed with co-defendants Yahya Goba, Shafal Mosed, Faysal Galab, Mukhtar Al-Bakri, Sahim Alwan and others to attend the al-Farooq military-type training camp in Afghanistan. According to the plea agreement, Taher, Mosed and Galab arrived in Pakistan on or about April 29, 2001. Also in the agreement, Taher admits traveling with Galab and Mosed to Quetta, Pakistan, where they stayed at a guest house believed to be associated with al-Qaida. Motel 666 Taher also admits traveling with Galab and Mosed to a guest house in Kandahar, and viewing a movie or videotape on the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole, the Justice Department said. Taher also admits traveling with Galab and Mosed to the al-Farooq training camp, and working under the direction and control of members of al-Qaida by receiving and taking orders from instructors at the camp. In addition, Taher admits in the plea agreement that he received training and instruction on the use of weapons while at al-Farooq, including a Kalashnikov rifle, 9mm handgun, M-16 automatic rifle and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, along with training on explosives and tactics. The agreement said that all persons at the camp, including Taher, were required to perform guard duty as part of their training. One trainee at the camp asked for volunteers to sign up for suicide missions, again according to the plea agreement. The agreement also said bin Laden visited al-Farooq while all six defendants were at the camp, and spoke about missions against the United States and Israeli interests. Taher left al-Farooq shortly after the bin Laden speech and before completing all of the training that was available. Taher faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both at sentencing at a later date, the government said. 5 down, 1 to go. |
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| Home Front |
| Fourth âBuffalo Sixâ Member Pleads Guilty |
| 2003-04-08 |
| A jobs counselor who met privately with Usama bin Laden in Afghanistan after attending an Al Qaeda training camp pleaded guilty Tuesday to providing support to a terrorist organization. Sahim Alwan, 30, is the fourth of six American men of Yemeni descent to reach a deal with the government in exchange for a lesser sentence. Like the others, he agreed to cooperate in the government's continuing terrorism investigation. The government indicated it would seek a nine-year term when Alwan is sentenced in July. All of the defendants faced 15 years in prison. In his plea agreement, the Buffalo-born Alwan, a married father of three, said he saw bin Laden at a Kandahar guest house before attending the camp and was taken to meet with the terrorist leader again after he left the camp. At the second meeting, Alwan said bin Laden asked "what Americans thought about martyrdom missions as well as how the brothers were doing at the al-Farooq camp." Alwan also heard bin Laden speak while at the camp. He said, "There were people willing to bear their soul in their hands for jihad." Unlike his co-defendants who pleaded guilty before him, Alwan did not say he knew the trip was illegal. He said he believed he was attending training in jihad, described as a struggle against those not of Islamic faith. "How was I to know it was illegal, I could hardly hear what he was saying over the gunfire and explosions." Last month, Yahya Goba and Shafal Mosed each pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors said they would seek an eight-year sentence for Mosed and a 10-year prison term for Goba. Faysal Galab pleaded guilty in January to supporting Al Qaeda. He is expected to receive a seven-year sentence. The two other defendants, Mukhtar al-Bakri and Yasein Taher, remain in plea negotiations, attorneys said. Four down, two to go. |
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| Fifth Column |
| Third of Lackawanna 6 Enters Guilty Plea |
| 2003-03-25 |
| A day after a co-defendant pleaded guilty to supporting al-Qaida, another member of the "Lackawanna Six" reached a deal with the government Tuesday in which he also admitted attending a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. Yahya Goba, 26, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a charge of providing material resources to a foreign terrorist organization by training at the camp in the spring of 2001. Everyone is falling over themselves copping a plea. Like Shafal Mosed on Monday, Goba admitted to training to use assault rifles and other weapons at the al-Farooq camp affiliated with Osama bin Laden. He said he and the others heard bin Laden speak about "men willing to becoming martyrs for the cause." With Goba's guilty plea, half of six men from the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna arrested in September 2002 have reached deals to avoid trial, and others are likely to follow. The plea agreements hold the promise of significantly less prison time - with sentences of eight to 10 years - for the men. The initial charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization carry a prison term of up to 15 years. Prosecutors said they would seek a 10-year term for Goba when he is sentenced July 17. Ten years seems OK by me, as long as they don't get out before then. Keep an eye on those prison immam's as well. |
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| Home Front |
| Second N.Y. Terror Suspect Pleads Guilty |
| 2003-03-24 |
| A second of six Yemeni-American men accused of training at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks pleaded guilty Monday to charges he supported al-Qaida. Shafal Mosed, 24, entered the plea to a charge of knowingly and unlawfully providing and attempting to provide material resources to a foreign terrorist organization, namely al-Qaida. He agreed to cooperate with investigators.Authorities indicated they would seek an eight-year prison term. Mosed was ordered held until sentencing, scheduled for July 16. In January, co-defendant Faysal Galab reached a deal with the government in which he agreed to testify against the other five men. Since then, negotiations have been underway involving all of the others, defense and prosecuting attorneys have said. Maybe they'll all cop deals to testify against each other. Then what do you do? Mosed, of suburban Lackawanna, a U.S.-born former college student who worked as a telemarketer, acknowledged that he bought a uniform and trained in the use of guns and a grenade launcher at al-Farooq training camp near Kandahar and performed guard duty while there from April to June 2001. Telemarketer? He should get life just for that! He also admitted hearing al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden speak to "about 50 men who were on a suicide mission." The married father of one admitted that he knew before he went to Afghanistan that the trip was illegal and that bin Laden was associated with the camp. The six men, all American citizens of Yemeni descent, were arrested in September and charged with violating a 1996 law that prohibits giving money, weapons or other support to foreign terrorist organizations. Prosecutors have said the men were awaiting orders from bin Laden's group to carry out an attack in the United States but have acknowledged there was no evidence they posed an imminent threat. The alleged leader of the cell, Yemeni-American Kamal Derwish, was believed killed in a CIA air strike on Nov. 3 in Yemen, U.S. officials have said. I believe a Predator turned him and some friends into splotches with a Hellfire... |
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| Home Front |
| Defense says Buffalo Boyz aren't linked to al-Qaeda |
| 2002-09-21 |
| One of the six men suspected of being part of a New York terror cell grew afraid after being taken to an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and repeatedly asked to leave, his lawyer said Thursday. "Please, Mr Custer! I don't wanna go..." During a bail hearing, lawyer James Harrington said Sahim Alwan had asked several people at the camp if he could leave. "Kin I go home, please? I miss my Mom!" "No! Shuddup and get that turban on straight!" He could not get out until a few days after Osama bin Laden spoke at the camp, Harrington said. Alwan then got a ride to Kandahar. "I was scared and missed my family. I did not agree with the mentality of some of the people at the camp," Alwan, 29, told FBI investigators. "After realizing the crazy, radical mentality of people at the camp, I decided to leave." "And, boy, am I glad I did! They're all dead now..." Alwan spoke to the FBI several times before his arrest, according to the criminal complaint, which disclosed details from the interviews. "It's profiling, see? Just cuz I'm an Arab and I went to Afghanistan and trained with terrorists and get filmed jumping up and down and rolling my eyes, shaking an AK47, they think I'm some kind of terrorist..." Prosecutors said the men are a flight risk and also should remain in jail because some claimed tiny net worths while carrying thousands of dollars. Defense attorneys have moved to dismiss the charges. The men, accused of supporting bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network, are all American citizens. That would seem to make them traitors, wouldn't it? William Clauss, who represents Yahya Goba, 25, said prosecutors had no evidence suggesting Goba took orders from al-Qaeda or linking him to an e-mail prosecutors said was from one suspected cell member to another. "I mean, just because he went to school to learn how to kill large numbers of people doesn't mean he was actually gonna kill large numbers of people, does it?" At their arraignments, U.S. Magistrate H. Kenneth Schroeder entered innocent pleas for Alwan and Goba, as well as for Faysal Galab, 26, Shafal Mosed, 24, Yasein Taher, 24, and Mukhtar al-Bakri, 22. They could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. They should also be counting themselves as lucky if they get that — which they probably won't. Defense attorney Patrick Brown said Mosed's family got pledges for real estate valued at about $600,000 for bail if needed. "These are people of rather modest means, I think, who are willing to risk it all. That says something." Actually, it just says they called a bail bondsman... Brown and Rodney Personius, Taher's lawyer, questioned Alwan's credibility and disputed the claim that their clients ever visited Afghanistan. Joseph LaTona, representing Galab, said there isn't any proof his client went except the statements of Alwan and al-Bakri to the FBI. "And they're on trial for treason, so what's that say about their credibility, huh?" Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hochul said a July 18 e-mail sent by al-Bakri to an uncharged co-conspirator uses language similar to that used by bin Laden in a December 2001 videotape and discusses an attack using explosives. Hochul said other evidence found at al-Bakri's last known residence in Lackawanna included a rifle, a telescopic sight, and a cassette tape that "asks Allah to give Jews and their enablers (U.S.) a black day." Ummm... Actually, that's pretty thin. I hope they've got more than that... John Molloy, al-Bakri's lawyer, conceded his client went to Afghanistan. He said the hunting rifle and scope belong to al-Bakri's father, the cassette dates from about 1980 and refers to Russia's invasion of Afghanistan, and the e-mail quotes hearsay al-Bakri gathered from an old man and a taxi driver at dinner in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, in May. See what I mean? Officials have said they had no evidence of any pending attacks planned by the cell but became alarmed this month when conversations among the men intensified. Two other suspected cell members, identified as Jaber Elbaneh and Kamal Derwish, are believed to be in Yemen. Authorities say they believe Derwish is the ringleader. The prosecutor said the defendants and Elbaneh traveled to Pakistan last year for religious training before heading to Afghanistan for instruction by terrorists linked to bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network. It was the same camp attended by American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh. Who also traveled to Pakistan for religious training before heading off to jihad in Afghanistan. But that's just coincidence, ain't it? |
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