Columbus, Ohio
A Somalian native has been charged in an al Qaida plot to blow up an Ohio shopping mall. Justice Department officials said that the man, Nuradin Abdi, 32, conspired with several others, including Iyman Faris, a known al Qaida member already in prison. According to government documents, Abdi traveled to an al Qaida camp in Ethiopia to study “guns, guerrilla warfare, bombs, and ‘anything to damage the enemy.’” He allegedly intended to carry out the bombing in Columbus, where he ran a cell phone business, but he was detained for immigration violations in November. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the case served as a reminder that al Qaida remained determined to “hit us hard.”
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