Suspected terror plot

Cleveland

Three Ohio men of Middle Eastern descent studied the use of suicide belts and improvised explosives in a plot to carry out terror attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, federal prosecutors charged this week. Officials declined to say how advanced the scheme was, but according to a five-count indictment, the suspects’ plans were foiled by an undercover operative who was working with them as they trained at shooting ranges and sought to sign up recruits. It did not appear the three, all legal U.S. residents, were connected to any organized insurgent groups in Iraq. “This case stands as a reminder of the need for continued vigilance in the war on terror,” Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at a news conference in Washington. A lawyer for one of the defendants, 26-year-old Mohammad Zaki Amawi, said his client, a Jordanian-American, was singled out because of his nationality. “He’s caught up in the Justice Department’s vigorous work,” said lawyer Steve Hartman.

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