Sen. Cornyn: One of Taliban suspects here illegally May 21, 2007
Posted by Scarecrow in 11/29/06 KHOU TV 4th.trackback
Sen. Cornyn: One of Taliban suspects here illegally
07:01 AM CST on Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Two Houston men have been charged with planning to aid the Taliban.
One of the terror suspects attended U of H downtown and the other attended classes at several HCC campuses.
Currently, they are both being held without bond in the federal detention center downtown.
Federal authorities say Kobie Williams is one of two men who had been training to use firearms with hopes of leaving Houston and joining the Taliban.
“And to fight the Jihad against American and Coalition forces overseas in the battle that is going on now,” said U. S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle.
The other suspect is Adnan Mirza, a Pakistani citizen, who had overstayed his student visa and was living in a westside Houston apartment complex.
Mirza was attending Houston Community College and working as an accountant at a small business.
Kobie Williams, also known as Abdul Kabeer, lived in an apartment in the Galleria area.
He attended U of H downtown and was working part time at Rice University in its engineering department.
Both men were seen on several occasions practicing with firearms at the American Shooting Center off Westheimer.
How did the government learn about them?
“It was a referral from the border patrol as far as suspicious activity that they noted,” said Rod Beverly, head of the Houston FBI office.
Beverly would not get into specifics, but Senator John Cornyn was quick to point out to us that Mirza was here illegally.
“Whether you provided aid to the Taliban or simply overstayed your visa, we ought to be enforcing our immigration laws,” said Sen. Cornyn.
The United States government says Williams, who is an American, provided financial support of $350, money he thought was going to the Taliban and their families.
His attorney John Floyd said his client pleaded guilty today and is remorseful.
“I can tell you that he has expressed to us that this all began with frustration with what’s going on with the war in Iraq. This was due to his frustration that he acted out in a way that now he sees was improper,” said Floyd.
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