New York - Four men have been taken into custody in New York
in an alleged plot to bomb a Jewish target in the city's Bronx
borough and to shoot down military aircraft at a New York air base,
federal authorities said late Wednesday.
The four men allegedly planned to blow up a car with plastic
explosives outside a synagogue in the Bronx's Riverdale neighbourhood.
They also hoped to use a missile against planes at the New York
Air National Guard base at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, about 100
kilometres north of New York City, officials said.
Federal prosecutors said an informant under the supervision of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation helped provide the suspects with an
inactive Stinger missile and inert explosives.
In an interview on CNN, Congressman Peter King of New York said
the attack was planned to be carried out Wednesday night when the
arrests were made. He labeled the suspects 'homegrown terrorists.'
Lev Dassin, acting US attorney for the Southern District of New
York, identified the men as James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta
Williams and Laguerre Payen.
They were expected to appear Thursday in federal court, facing
charges of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and
conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles. Each defendant
could face life in prison.
'The defendants wanted to engage in terrorist attacks,' Dassin
said. 'They selected targets and sought the weapons necessary to
carry out their plans.
'Fortunately, the defendants sought the assistance of a witness
cooperating with the government. While the weapons provided to the
defendants by the cooperating witness were fake, the defendants
thought they were absolutely real.'
The federal criminal complaint alleged that the case began when
Cromitie expressed to the informant a desire to do 'something to
America.' The informant later claimed involvement with the
Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is designated by the United
States as a foreign terrorist organization.
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