HarpBlaster.com wire reports

CAMDEN, N.J., May 8, 2007 – Federal authorities arrested five radical Islamists today for allegedly plotting to “kill as many U.S. soldiers as they could” at the Army’s Fort Dix, N.J.

A sixth person is charged with aiding and abetting members of the domestic terror group, authorities announced today.

The arrests occurred last night in Cherry Hill, N.J., as suspects tried to buy three AK47 assault rifles and four semi-automatic M-16s from a confidential government witness. The arrests culminate a 16-month FBI investigation into the groups’ alleged plot to kill soldiers with assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Camden, N.J.

“The philosophy that supports and encourages jihad around the world against Americans came to live here in New Jersey and threatened the lives of our citizens through these defendants,” Christopher Christie, U.S. Attorney for the district of New Jersey, told reporters outside the courthouse. “Fortunately, law enforcement in New Jersey was here to stop them.

“We were able to do what American law enforcement is supposed to do in the post 9/11 era, and that is to be one step ahead of those who are attempting to do harm to American citizens,” he said.

Some members of the group allegedly conducted surveillance at Fort Dix and also at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and the U.S. Coast Guard in Philadelphia. The co-conspirators obtained a detailed map of Fort Dix, where they said they hoped to use assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades to kill as many soldiers as possible.

They also did small-arms training at a shooting range in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and distributed training videos amongst themselves that included depictions of American soldiers being killed and known foreign Islamic radicals urging jihad against the United States.

“As we have learned from the access one suspect — the pizza delivery driver — had to Fort Dix, terrorists are constantly eyeing new ways to penetrate our military installations. For months this terror cell cased at least four federal facilities and because of proximity, access and knowledge regarding Fort Dix they felt most ready to make their move there,” U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said.

“We must tighten up security at our bases, not make them more accessible for potential terrorists. What the Navy is considering at Earle is absurd, irresponsible and antithetical to efforts to protect New Jersey’s bases,” Smith said.

The special agent in charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, Jody Weis, described the “homegrown” group as new brand of terrorism that’s inspired by al Qaeda, but not necessarily affiliated with the international organization.

Weiss called the suspects a platoon that sought to take on an Army.

“They identified their target, they did their reconnaissance, they had maps, and they were in the process of buying weapons,” he said. “Today we dodged a bullet. In fact, when you look at the type of weapons this group was trying to purchase, we may have dodged a lot of bullets.”

The FBI’s investigation began January 2006 when a video store representative tipped off officials after a man brought a “disturbing” video to be converted to DVD format. Weiss thanked the unnamed clerk for displaying vigilance, calling the worker an “unsung hero.”

According to the court complaint, the video “depicted 10 young men who appeared to be in their early twenties shooting assault weapons at a firing range in a militia-like style while calling for jihad and shouting in Arabic ‘Allahu Akbar,’” or God is Great.

According to federal authorities, those arrested are:

• Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22, of Cherry Hill. He was born in Jordan, is a U.S. citizen and is employed as a taxicab driver in Philadelphia.

• Eljvir Duka, 23, of Cherry Hill, a.k.a. “Elvis Duka,” a.k.a. “Sulayman,” was born in the former Yugoslavia. Duka is illegally residing in the U.S. and operates businesses known as Qadr. Inc., Colonial Roofing and National Roofing, all of which list business addresses the same as his residence.

• Dritan Duka, 28, of Cherry Hill, a.k.a. “Distan Duka,” a.k.a. “Anthony Duka,” a.k.a. “Tony Duka.” He was born in the former Yugoslavia, is illegally residing in the U.S. and operates businesses known as Colonial Roofing and National Roofing, both which list business addresses at the residence of defendants Eljvir Duka and Shain Duka. (All of the Dukas charged are brothers).

• Shain Duka, 26, of the same address as Eljvir Duka in Cherry Hill, a.k.a. “Shaheen,” was born in the former Yugoslavia. Shain Duka is illegally residing in the U.S. and operates businesses known as Colonial Roofing and National Roofing, both which list business addresses the same as his residence.

• Serdar Tatar, 23, of Philadelphia, was born in Turkey. Tatar is legally residing in the U.S. His last know employment was at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Philadelphia.

• Agron Abdullahu, 24, of Buena Vista Township, Atlantic County, was born in the former Yugoslavia. Abdullahu is legally residing in the U.S. and is employed at a Shop-Rite Supermarket.

The Duka brothers and Abdullahu are ethnic Albanians born in the former Yugoslavia.

Abdullahu is charged only with aiding and abetting the Duka brothers’ illegal possession of weapons, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The other five are each charged with conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of imprisonment for any term of years or for life.

Each of the Duka brothers is also charged with being illegal aliens in possession of firearms, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

All six defendants appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider in federal court in Camden. Schneider ordered the men jailed without bail.

“The individuals arrested today present an alarming example of the need to maintain a vigilant stance towards those who would do us harm,” said Julie Myers, ICE Assistant Secretary. “This case is an excellent example of how ICE immigration investigative authorities are making the country safer.”

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s arrests should put an immediate halt to plans by the Senate to craft an illegal alien amnesty bill next week, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) said. The arrests shows lax enforcement of the country’s immigration laws does pose a severe threat to the security of the nation, and that the government’s screening process for granting green cards and other immigration benefits is perilously flawed, the group said.

“Today we found out once again that our failure to control illegal immigration and our inability to manage the current caseload of people applying for immigration benefits poses a lethal risk to the nation,” said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. “After years of denying the obvious — that terrorists can and will take advantage of the same unenforced immigration policies that have flooded this country with illegal immigrants — we now have irrefutable proof that the terrorists understand where we are vulnerable. We can be certain that there are many more terrorists who entered the country illegally or overstayed visas, and we may not be as lucky next time.”

John J. Kruzel of American Forces Press Service and PRNewswire-USNewswire contributed to this report.