Two men in the United States, including an illegal Pakistani immigrant, have been charged with plotting to fight American forces in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban.
A grand jury has delivered a four-count federal indictment against US citizen Kobie Diallo Williams and an illegal Pakistani national -- Adnan Babar Mirza, living here on an expired student visa, for a conspiracy to aid the Taliban, according to a US Attorney in Houston.
Williams, 33, also known as Abdul Kabeer and Abdul Kabir, a US citizen and Mirza, 29, both from Houston, are charged with conspiring to train with firearms with a goal to fight with the Taliban against coalition forces in the Middle East and providing approximately USD 350 in cash to support terrorist groups.
Mirza is also charged with three violations of federal firearms law. The four-count indictment was returned under seal by a Houston grand jury on November 22, 2006, and unsealed yesterday after the appearance of both men before a US magistrate judge.
Williams surrendered early yesterday to members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Mirza was already in custody on immigration violations.
Both Williams and Mirza have been ordered to remain in federal custody without bond pending further criminal proceedings.
If convicted of the conspiracy charge set forth in Count One, Williams and Mirza face a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment, a fine of USD 250,000 and three years supervised release.
