Indian in US pleads guilty of providing support to al-Qaeda

Mohamamad is said to have conspired to travel to Yemen and provide financial assistance.

An Indian in the United States has pleaded guilty of supporting material support to the al-Qaeda. Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 39 married to an American now faces 27 years in prison apart from deportation if convicted.

The prosecution alleged that Mohammad had provided material support to Anwar Al-Awalaki of the al-Qaeda. He was an engineering student at the Ohio State University between 2002 and 2004. He and three other defendants, his brother Ibrahim Mohammad, and two US citizens -- Asif Ahmed Salim and Sultane Room Salim -both brothers, were indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2015,.

The department of Justice said that he would be deported upon completion of his sentence. Mohammad conspired to attack US service members abroad as well as a judge in Toledo. He threatened the hallmarks of our democracy. He is a dangerous criminal who deserves a long prison sentence," acting US Attorney David Sierleja said.

Mohamamad is said to have conspired to travel to Yemen and provide financial assistance, equipment and other support to Anwar Al-Awlaki, in an effort to support violent jihad against US military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world. According to court papers, on July 22 in 2009, Mohammad travelled with two associates to Yemen to meet Awlaki and deliver USD 22,000 that they had raised. They were unable to meet with the ideologue of the al-Qaeda, but managed to ensure that the money reached him.

OneIndia News