JFK Terror Plot

(New York) Breaking today, it appears to be a home-grown cell with suspected links to Jamaat al-Muslimeen in Guyana and Trinidad. Four men, thus far, are implicated. The plan was to blow up jet fuel facilities at Kennedy Airport along with fuel pipelines throughout Queens.

Reportedly, the plotters were under surveillance for a year before being busted and the operation never progressed past the planning stage. Nonetheless, one could get antsy with two significant plots (Ft. Dix Six and JFK Four) thwarted in mere weeks.

From NYT:

Federal law enforcement officials and New York City police said today that four people have been charged with conspiring to bomb Kennedy International Airport.

The plan, which was described by United States Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf as "one of the most chilling plots imaginable," involved a former airport worker who is a United States citizen of Guyanese descent and a former member of the Guyanese parliament, who is also an imam.

The former airport worker, Russell Defreitas, was in custody in Brooklyn and was expected to be arraigned this afternoon. The former Guyanese parliament member, Abdul Kadir, and Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, were in custody in Trinidad. A fourth man, Abdel Nur, of Guyana, was still being sought, law enforcement officials said.

Jamaat al-Muslimeen was founded by Imam Yasin Abu Bakr, a former Canadian student named Lennox Phillip who converted to Islam, went to Trinidad and Tobago and began an Islamic career. An attempted takeover of the Trinidadian government by Jamaat in 1990 failed.

Jamaat al-Muslimeen has enduring links to Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi. Up until today, Jamaat al-Muslimeen was largely known for kidnappings and extortion of businessmen and fellow Muslims.