The eighth arrest in a suspected North Carolina terrorist ring adds new complexity to a probe that investigators say spans the world and includes 5 million pieces of evidence.
Barjam Asllani, 29, of Mitrovica, Kosovo, is accused of conspiring with eight Raleigh-area men indicted last year in what federal prosecutors say was a plot to provide support to terrorists. He was arrested Thursday in Kosovo. One suspect indicted last year remains at large.
A criminal complaint unsealed Thursday says that Asllani, also known as Abu Hatab, solicited money to establish a base in Kosovo to wage jihad, or holy war, against opponents of Islam.
"People who are plotting to harm America and Americans are no longer a world away from us," Owen D. Harris, special agent in charge of the FBI in North Carolina, said in a prepared statement. "This case began in Raleigh, N.C., and now stretches across the globe, a circumstance no one would have thought possible less than 10 years ago."
Asllani apparently lived in the Raleigh area for some time, but a background check found no local address. It was unclear whether he had local legal representation.
Khalilah Sabra, who worships at the Raleigh mosque, recalled Asllani as part of a group of Muslims from the Balkans.
Federal prosecutors have reached an agreement with Kosovar authorities to extradite Asllani to the United States to face charges.
It won't be the first time he has faced terrorism charges. Asllani was arrested by Kosovar authorities in 2007 and placed under house arrest, authorities say. A Serbian court convicted him in absentia in September for terrorist-related plans. He was sentenced to eight years of confinement.
His arrest is the latest twist in a case that erupted in July, when seven Triangle men were charged with conspiring to commit terrorist acts abroad. Then in September, another indictment accused three of the seven men of conspiring to kill U.S. military personnel at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
'Logistical nightmare'
The criminal complaint unsealed Thursday alleges that Asllani befriended one of the men now in custody, Hysen Sherifi, who was also born in Kosovo but was living in the Triangle. The two met in Kosovo in 2008, authorities say, and Asllani asked Sherifi to raise money to buy land in Kosovo for a terrorist training camp and to translate some propaganda videos into English to help recruit others.
Defense attorneys for the men already in custody worried Thursday about how the latest arrest might further complicate their case. The defendants are to be tried as a group.
"They are creating a logistical nightmare," said Daniel Boyce, a Raleigh attorney representing defendant Omar Hassan. "How many people can we try at once? Are they going to add 10 more defendants between now and then?"
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Raleigh delayed the trial until September 2011 to give both sides time to sift through reams of evidence and translate tape recordings from Arabic and other foreign languages to English. So far, more than 30,000 pages of documents, 750 hours of audio and video clips, and 5 million pieces of evidence culled from the defendants' computers have been handed over to defense attorneys. Much of the evidence is classified and has yet to be shared with the defense.
A $15,000 check
The complaint alleges that Sherifi was able to raise $15,000 and had a check for that amount ready to give Asllani before Sherifi's arrest in July.
Daniel Boyd, who is accused of being the ringleader, was interested in going to Kosovo with two of his sons to help build a terrorist base, the complaint says.
Boyd, a U.S. citizen, was living with his family in the Johnston County community of Willow Springs. He was indicted in July along with his two sons, Zakariya Boyd and Dylan Boyd. Also indicted were Sherifi; Anes Subasic, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Bosnia; and two Raleigh men, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan and Ziyad Yaghi, both U.S. citizens.
The charges against them include conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons.
George E.B. Holding, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, credits his office's relationship with Kosovo officials for reaching an agreement to extradite Asllani. His office has partnered with the Kosovar government for the past year to teach its lawyers, judges and police how to investigate and prosecute crimes.
"The interchange has been great, and it really helped with this arrest and extradition," Holding said.
Under an extradition agreement with the Kosovo government, Asllani could face no more than 40 years for the charges against him. The others face life imprisonment if convicted.
Investigators are still searching for a ninth suspect, Jude Kenan Mohammad, who is thought to be in Pakistan.
News researcher Peggy Neal contributed to this report.
