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December 8, 2006
US: Muslim's Illinois Christmas Carnage Plot
News from various sources, including Fox News, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, BBC, International News and Associated Press via Forbes and the Guardian:
A 22 year old man from Rockford, 90 miles west of Chicago, appeared in court today, charged with plotting to mount grenade attacks at the CherryVale shopping mall in Rockford, three days before Christmas.
Derrick Shareef, a black Muslim convert, had been arrested in a "sting" operation after he had tried to buy four grenades from an undercover agent working with the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Today, he appeared before Judge Maria Valdez, charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, and attempting to destroy or damage a building in an explosion. The US Magistrate ordered that Shareef be held in custody until December 20 when the defense can mount an application for bail.
Shareef's plans to carry out an act of jihad had come to the attention of the FBI in September, when he confided in an associate who then informed the bureau. From that time onward, Shareef was kept under close surveillance, and with the assistance of an undercover agent, his movements and intentions were known. Several of his conversations were recorded, where he discussed possible targets.
The undercover agent suggested that he could introduce Shareef to someone who get hold of weaponry. Shareef apparently made several surveillance missions of his own, to decide the best place to mount an attack. He settled on the notion of CherryVale mall as it would be busy before Christmas. He had scheduled Friday 22 December as the day of the attack when Christmas shoppers would be at their greatest number. He intended to place grenades in bins at the mall.
US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said that at no stage was the public placed in danger during the surveillance operation, and Shareef acted alone. Even though affidavits and statements give the impression that Shareef was attempting an ambitious act of terror, he was still amateur. He did not have the funds to buy weaponry, but had arranged on the day of his arrest to exchange a set of audio speakers to receive the grenades. If Shareef does get convicted, each of his charges carries a maximum life sentence and a $250,000 fine.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 8, 2006 10:11 PM
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