US seeks help to nab seven suspects

Washington has sought the public’s help in nabbing the seven ‘terror-suspects,’ thought to be plotting attack against the United States.

The seven are said to be linked to al-Qaida

“They all pose a clear and present danger to America. They all should be considered armed and dangerous,” US Attorney General John Ashcroft said on Wednesday.

The FBI has released background information on each of the suspects.

–Adnan El Skhkrijumah: Was involved in terrorist planning with senior al-Qaida leaders overseas and scouted sites across across America that might be vulnerable to terrorist attack. He was born in Saudi Arabia on 4 August, 1975 and carries a Guyanese passport.

US Attorny General John Ashcroft has warned of new threat
US Attorny General John Ashcroft has warned of new threat

US Attorny General John Ashcroft
has warned of new threat

— Abderraouf Jdey:  He appears in a video seized in Afghanistan, which together with one of four others is the last will and testament of five possible “jihad martyrs.”  He was reportedly chosen for flight training to prepare for a second attack in the United States. He is a Canadian citizen born in Tunisia on 30 May, 1965.

— Adam Gadahn: The only one of the seven who had not been previously named by the FBI. He is a US citizen who converted to Islam and was associated with al-Qaida leader Abu Zubaydah in Pakistan. He attended training camps in Afghanistan. He is known to have done translations for al-Qaida. He was born in the United States on 1 September, 1978 and uses Adam Pearlman as one of his many aliases.

— Aafia Siddiqui: She is an al-Qaida operative and facilitator who attended college in the Boston area and is believed to have left there in January of 2003. She was born in Pakistan on 2 March, 1972 and the FBI believes she is currently back in that country.

— Amer El Maati: An al-Qaida member and licensed pilot, he is believed to have discussed hijacking a plane in Canada and flying it into a building in the United States. He is a Canadian citizen of Egyptian and Syrian origin. He was born in Kuwait on 25 May, 1963.

— Fazul Abd Allah Muhammad and Ahmad Khalfan Ghailani: Wanted on criminal charges in federal court in New York for the 1998 bombings by al-Qaida members of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Source: News Agencies