Anti-terrorist court in Pakistan charges five Americans

In Islamabad, an anti-terrorist court charged five Americans from Washington area with plotting terrorism. The five were arrested in December on allegations of attempt to link to al Qaeda. The men, all students, face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. All have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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“Saifullah” allegedly recruited Americans for jihad training in Pakistan

As Pakistani law enforcement officials began questioning the group from a multiethnic, working-class enclave in Virginia, investigators sought more information about a suspected Pakistani militant they knew only as Saifullah. Investigators believe that Saifullah recruited the Americans, some of whom were college students, through an exchange of emails in late summer and the fall. Saifullah…

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Pakistan seeking information on Americans seeking to train for jihad; no plans to deport

Police raided a hotel where the five American would-be jihadists stayed upon arrival in Pakistan. They recovered a mobile phone and five bags, but no major clues were discovered. There has been speculation about Pakistan deporting the men, but no plans to send them back the US are currently in place. They cannot be handed…

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Arrests of Americans in Pakistan raise concerns about possible trends of homegrown terrorism and radicalization abroad

In the years since 9/11 no further terrorist attacks have occurred, and the American war on terror was partly predicated upon the idea that fighting terrorism abroad will prevent fighting it at home. But a recent string of terrorism arrests is challenging the idea that American soil is immune to homegrown radicalism. The Obama Administration…

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Americans detained in Pakistan, suspected of joining violent jihad

Five US nationals from the Washington DC area were detained in Pakistan; officials believe the men had hoped to receive training at a jihadist camp and launch attacks against US forces. The men are in their early 20s and went missing in November. The men told interrogators that they were “for jihad” and that they…

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