WASHINGTON, 21 June 2003 — A Kashmir-born Ohio man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in connection with helping the Al-Qaeda network scout a possible second wave of terror attacks on New York and Washington after Sept. 11, federal prosecutors said late Thursday.
The plot, including plans to sever the suspension cables of the Brooklyn Bridge, failed because the conspirators ultimately realized they couldn’t pull it off, the government said.
But the Justice Department described the arrest and conviction of Iyman Faris, 34, as a significant advance in its anti-terror war. The government’s case, according to court papers that until Thursday were under seal in US District Court in Alexandria, Va., detail how the Columbus, Ohio, truck driver, became an active and willing foot soldier for Al-Qaeda and its top leadership, from late 2000 through March of this year. Faris pleaded guilty to two counts alleging that he violated a federal statute against providing material support to terrorist organizations.
In his plea agreement, Faris admitted casing a New York City bridge — not identified by name in court papers but which law enforcement officials said was the Brooklyn Bridge — and to doing Internet research into cable cutters, train-derailment equipment and other tools for possible attacks on US targets.
He faces up to 20 years in prison, and a fine of up to $500,000 at sentencing, which is set for Aug. 1.
“On any given day, Iyman Faris appeared to be a hard-working, independent truck driver. Working out of Columbus, Ohio, he freely crisscrossed the country making deliveries to airports and businesses without raising a suspicion,” Attorney General John Ashcroft said at a news conference. “But Faris led a secret double life.”
With the arrest, Ashcroft added, “We have taken another American-based Al-Qaeda operative off the streets,” alluding to convictions the government has already obtained of alleged Al-Qaeda sympathizers in Detroit, Seattle, and Buffalo, N.Y.
Ashcroft said the government took the unusual step of requesting that the plea agreement be kept under court seal for “a variety of national security reasons.” He indicated that the government was examining and exhausting other leads in the case and did not want to signal that to the public or the suspects themselves.
The plea agreement requires that Faris cooperate with prosecutors.
At the news conference, the FBI’s top counter-terrorism chief, Pasquale J. D’Amuro said the “investigation in Ohio remains ongoing.”
Ashcroft declined to say how Faris became known to officials, when and where he was arrested, and where he is currently incarcerated. He also declined to elaborate on why the case was brought in Alexandria; the Virginia court and the federal court in New York City share authority over Al-Qaeda-related investigations.
But one federal law-enforcement official said Faris was arrested in the early spring in Columbus, and brought to Virginia for questioning.
The court documents also indicate that Faris had dealings with Al-Qaeda operations chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed who was arrested in Pakistan in March, and has been cooperating with US authorities.
Faris, also known as Mohammed Rauf, according to court papers, entered the United States in May 1994, and became a US citizen in December 1999. He was employed for several years as an independent truck driver.
