Thursday, March 23, 2006

Albany Terrorist Suspect's Calls to Syria Were Monitored

From the Albany Times-Union:
ALBANY, N.Y. - The spiritual leader of an Albany mosque repeatedly called a phone number in Syria that an FBI report indicates had been used to gather terrorist intelligence for Osama bin Laden, according to classified documents unsealed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
The FBI report, which was based on information from a confidential informant, was among several once-secret documents that federal authorities say raise questions about Yassin Aref's connections to terrorist organizations across the Middle East.
Aref, 35, a Kurdish refugee who moved to Albany with his family in 1999, is in jail without bond while awaiting trial on charges related to an FBI counterterrorism sting. He has denied any connections to terrorism.
The Albany area has been a hotbed of Muslim activism. Last month, The Dread Pundit Bluto revealed that the organization "Islamic Valley" had sponsored a visit by a Pakistani Muslim cleric who recently offered $1 million for the murder of Danish cartoonists responsible for the notorious Mohammed cartoons.

Also, The Jawa Report posted on a suspected terrorist training camp in the nearby Catskill Mountains.