Ilyas Kashmiri aide held in Chicago

Chicago, Mar 27: A Chicago taxi driver was charged of funding money for explosives to al Qaeda and planning bomb attack on one of the US sports stadium, authorities said.

According to court document, 56-year-old of Raja Khan, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, admitted before an undercover agent to meeting Ilyas Kashmiri, operational chief of the Harkat-ul Jihad Islami (HuJI) and al Qaeda's Brigade 313.

Khan said that he met Kashmiri once in Pakistan during which he said that he 'wanted to train operatives to conduct attacks in the United States', a statement by the US attorney's office said.

Kashmiri asked him money for purchasing explosives from the black market after showing him a video of bombing.

In Nov, Khan wired $950 to an unidentified individual, whom he referred to as 'Lala', or older brother, in Pakistan to deliver it to Kashmiri.

He used the code names for individuals to whom money is wired as he feared that his phone might be tapped.

Later he tried to send his son to England to deliver $700 to Kashmiri, out of the $1,000 which he had received from the undercover agent.

His son was intercepted by the US officials at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

The Prosecutor said that Khan was discussing plans to blast a stadium in the United States with remote controlled bombs with an unidentified man just two weeks before he was arrested.

However, Kashmiri is believed to be not involved in his plan on attacking a US stadium.

Khan has been accused on two counts of terror charges for providing material support to terrorism, each counts carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonement and a $250,000 fine.

OneIndia News