TerrorismTwo Iraqi men arrested in Kentucky for aiding al Qaeda

Waad Ramadan Alwan (L) and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi // Source: chaobuoisang.net

A pair of Iraqi men living in Kentucky were taken into custody and charged with twenty-three separate counts, including  terrorism, for allegedly helping al Qaeda carry out attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. The two men also attempted to send weapons from the United States to the terrorist group. CNN reports that Waas Ramadan Alwan, 30 and Mohanad Shareef Hammafi, 23, currently reside in Bowling Green.  A Justice Department official described Alwan as “a really bad guy” who had constructed and placed improvised explosive devices designed to kill U.S. troops. Alwan was arrested in Iraq in 2006, but was released and has spent the last several years living in the United States.

According to the Justice Department, both men were under FBI surveillance for months while they attempted to provide weapons to al Qaeda. The FBI started an undercover sting operation and an undercover agent had Alwan tell him that he had been involved with “hundreds” of improvised explosive devices (IED).

Alwan and Hammafi spent the past eight months attempting to buy and transport money, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, plastic explosives, and Stinger missiles to Iraqi insurgents, according to documents.

Every single weapon Alwan and Hammafi acquired was rendered inoperable by undercover FBI agents with the help of other law enforcement agencies. The men believed they were putting the weapons on trucks that would end up in al Qaeda possession in Iraq.

The indictment, released on Tuesday, indicates the United States was able to identify Alwan’s fingerprints on an IED and on a cordless phone that was used in an attack in Iraq.

The Justice Department’s Division of National Security led the operation. Todd Hinnen, the acting assistant attorney general, said that the men never planned any attacks within the United States.

If convicted, the two men could face up to life in prison.