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May 8, 2007
US: Islamist Plot Against Fort Dix
News wires are buzzing with the story that six men have been charged with plotting a terror attack against Fort Dix in New Jersey. Associated Press carries the bulk of the news reports, as in the IHT. Other accounts can be found on WNBC and Fox News. A copy of the full 27-page Justice Department press release can be found here.
The six men are brothers Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka and Shain Duka, along with Mohamad Shnewer, Derdar Tatar and Agron Abdullahu. The men, all Muslims, are said to have planned to use automatic rifles to enter Fort Dix in New Jersey, and once inside to kill as many people as possible. Five of the six lived in Cherry Hill, 10 miles east of Philadelphia and 20 miles southwest of Fort Dix.
The three Duka brothers, who were born in the former republic of Yugoslavia, are all illegal immigrants. They have also been charged separately with being illegal aliens in possession of firearms. All the men have been charged with conspiracy to kill employees of the Unitted States Government, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Section 114. Only one of the men, Jordanian-born Mohamad Shewner, is a US citizen.
The Duka brothers, Shnewer and Tatar are said to have conducted firearms training in Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania. From mid-August 2006, Mohamad Shnewer had conducted surveillance missions to Fort Dix, followed by other US military sites, and in November, Serdar Tatar acquired a map of Fort Dix.
The Duka brothers collected weaponry in January of this year, and in February went to Pennsylvania to hone their firearms skills, completing their tactical training at Cherry Hill, New Jersey by February 26. On April 6 Dritan DUka, who appears to be the group's ringleader ordered four Kalashnikov AK-47 automatic assault rifles, M-16 rifles and handguns, and on April 27, Mohamad Shnewer ordered a Kalashnikov.
The attention of the authorities was brought after a store-owner reported that a video had been brought to him in January 2006, by an individual who wanted to transfer it to DVD. This video, taken on January 3, 2006, showed 10 men firing weapons, calling for jihad and shouting Allahu Ackbar (God is Great). The store-owner informed the FBI.
In April 2006, Mohamad Shnewer downloaded various jihadist materials onto his computer from the internet. FBI undercover agents were by this time working with the suspects. On August 1, 2006, Mohamad was heard to say: "If you want to anything here, there is Fort Dix and I don't want to exaggerate, and I assure you that you can hit an American base very easily."
"You take a map and draw it and then you calculate that there are areas where there are 100-200 individuals and you should allocate 6 - 7 persons for this alone. When you go to a military base, you need mortars and RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades]".
The Justice Department report states that Shnewer claimed to have money which he had acummulated, as he had been "saving money for this plan for some time".
On August 5, 2006, Shnewer told the FBI informant: "We need to accumulate experience, and we need to think about how many we need and what they are going to do and we need to gather the weapons.... Of course, I can get the weapons, machine gun, hand gun, I can get ... from the street as you cannot buy a machine gun from a store."
The individuals did some of their training in the Poconos mountains, authorities believe.
Tony Snow, White House spokesman, has said there is no "direct evidence" linking the individuals to international terrorism. He said: "They are not charged with being members of an international terrorism organization. At least at this point, there is no evidence that they received direction from international terror organizations."
The men are being arraigned, and a press statement was expected to be issued at 2.30 pm (EST) this afternoon at the U.S. District Courthouse in Camden.
Fort Dix has been closed to the public since 2001. In 1999 it had housed 4,000 ethnic Albanian refugees from the war in Kosovo, who returned when the war was over or were granted citizenship of the US.
Fort Dix advertises itself as providing the "Army's number 1 training, mobilizer of America's citizen soldiers". It trains reservists to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, and usually houses 15,000 staff, including 3,000 soldiers.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 8, 2007 3:53 PM
Comments
"When Clinton lied--people died". Bosnia was a civil war with no exit strategy, and our troops are still there, and now we know the "massacre" was a hoax, we entered that battle on the wrong side, we might better have stayed out completely. All our good deeds in the former Yugoslovia have brought us is more refugees in our country who hate us. Despite the language barrier private schoolbus contractors like one in Utica, NY had them trained and driving schoolbus. the only advantage of supporting a independent (muslim) Kosovo is that it will be a pain in the side of Putin, as thanks for all his "help" in the Middle East.
Posted by: Catawhumpus ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.westernresistance.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at May 8, 2007 4:51 PM
Interesting. Thanks. Criminal code cite should be
18, United States Code, Section 1114.
Posted by: Richard at May 9, 2007 6:42 PM
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