2007 Fort Dix attack plot
A group of six radical Islamist men, allegedly plotting to stage an attack on the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey, United States, were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on May 7, 2007. They were subsequently convicted of planning an attack against U.S. soldiers. The alleged aim of the six men was said to be to "kill as many soldiers as possible". Their trial began on October 20, 2008 and was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. On 22 December, 2008, the plotters were found guilty on charges of conspiracy to harm US military personnel. However, they were acquitted on the charge of attempted murder.
Background
The attack is one in a series of Islam-related attacks and failed attacks by Muslims on military installations in the United states, including the 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot, 2009 New York bomb plot, the 2009 Arkansas recruiting office shooting, and the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon.
Group members
Dritan Duka (age 28), Shain Duka (26) and Eljvir Duka (23) ethnic Albanians from the Republic of Macedonia.
The Duka family entered the United States illegally through Mexico in October 1984. In 1989, father Ferik Duka made an application for asylum with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and acknowledged the family's illegal entry into the country. Between 1996 and 2006, Cherry Hill police charged Dritan and Shain Duka with a number of disorderly persons offenses, including marijuana possession, improper behavior, prowling, disturbing the peace, and obstructing the administration of law. They were fined between $20 and $830 on various occasions and sent home, according to court records. The three brothers were also issued about 50 traffic citations between 1997 and 2006 - more than 20 by Cherry Hill police - for speeding, driving without licenses, driving while on the suspended list, failure to appear in court, and other charges.
Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer (22), Dritan Duka's brother-in-law, a Palestinian cab driver from Jordan, who became a naturalized citizen.
Serdar Tatar, born in Turkey, worked at his father's pizzeria.
Agron Abdullahu, Albanian from Kosovo, said to have provided weaponry instruction to the group; and worked at a ShopRite supermarket in Buena Vista Township, New Jersey.
Preparation
The six men traveled to the Poconos, where they allegedly practiced firing "semi-automatic weapons" at a shooting range in Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania The shooting range, at Pennsylvania State Game Land 127, is operated by the state of Pennsylvania. A group of ten men had recorded video footage of themselves shooting weapons and shouting the takbir, Allahu Akbar ("God is the greatest").
On January 31 2006, the men took the video to the Circuit City in Mount Laurel, NJ to convert it to a DVD. An employee of the store, Brian Morgenstern, alerted authorities, and a full-scale investigation was initiated. An informant from the FBI infiltrated the group to gather information. The group's planning was caught on video and audio tape by federal authorities. They also trained in Cherry Hill Township, New Jersey. One of the suspects was allegedly able to draw a detailed map of Fort Dix from memory.
The men continued to hold normal jobs. The Duka brothers, Eljvir, Dritan, and Shain (Albanians from ex-Yugoslavia), operated a roofing business known as Qadr. Inc., Colonial Roofing and National Roofing. Agron Abdullahu (Albanian), Serdar Tatar (a Turkish legal immigrant), and Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer (a U.S. citizen from Jordan) held a variety of jobs, including that of a taxi driver and clerk for 7-Eleven.
Five of the men arrested, according to news reports, intended to attack the Fort Dix military base and kill as many servicemen as they could. The sixth man arrested, Abdullahu, has been charged with aiding and abetting in the possession of firearms by the Duka brothers. The group revealed to the FBI informant (a conversation that was recorded) that the five other men intended to "hit a heavy concentration of soldiers [...] You hit four, five or six Humvees and light the whole place [up] and retreat completely without any losses".
The men attempted to purchase weapons from an FBI informant, including AK-47s, M16s, M60s, rocket propelled grenades, rockets, semi-automatic Sig Sauer 9 mm handguns, Smith & Wesson 9 mm, C-4 plastic explosive, and nitroglycerin. The informant told them that the weapons would come from an underground military dealer from Baltimore, Maryland who had recently returned from Egypt.
Trial
The six suspects were indicted on 5 June 2007 and were arraigned in federal court in Camden on 14 June where they pled not guilty.
The U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler called it "an unusual case" and called for the trial to begin by early October, adding, "If the government is not able to prove this case, they should not be in jail. I want to get this resolved."
Agron Abdullahu, suspected of having the smallest role in the attack plot, accepted a plea bargain with a limit of 5 years in prison for his weapons offenses. Prosecutors say that while Abdullahu supplied weapons to the other five men, he resisted the idea of attacking the military base.
Opening arguments were presented on October 20, 2008. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick asserted that the defendants were inspired by jihad, saying "Their motive was to defend Islam. Their inspiration was Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Their intention was to attack the U.S." Prosecutors presented recordings of the plot obtained by two paid FBI informants during a 16-month undercover investigation as well as suspicious videos that were found on one defendant's computer. Defense attorneys countered that the videos, alleged by the prosecution to be terrorist training videos, merely showed the defendants on holiday exhibiting "false bravado". They also attacked the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses. On 22 December, 2008, the plotters were found guilty on charges of conspiracy to harm US military personnel. However, they were acquitted on the charge of attempted murder.
Chronology of events
January 31 2006 - An individual brings a tape to a Circuit City in New Jersey for duplication and transfer to DVD. The video features 10 young men conducting militia style assault training shooting their weapons at a firing range while shouting "God is great". The Circuit City employee, Brian Morgenstern, who saw the video contacted the Mt. Laurel Police who in turn contacted the FBI.
By April 2006, the FBI hired informant Mahmoud Omar to approach the accused.
August 11 2006 - Shnewer travels to Fort Dix and Fort Monmouth to conduct surveillance.
August 13 2006 - Shnewer travels to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware to conduct surveillance.
August 13 2006 - Shnewer travels to the U.S. Coast Guard building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to conduct surveillance.
August 16 2006 - Shnewer travels to Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst to conduct surveillance.
November 28 2006 - Serdar Tatar, who had delivered pizza to Fort Dix before, obtains a map of the Fort Dix military installation through his employer's pizza delivery restaurant, which services the military base.
February 2 2007 - Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka and Sulayman Shain Duka conduct weapons training in Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania.
February 4 2007 - Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka and Sulayman Shain Duka review terrorist training materials.
February 26 2007 - Dritan Duka and Eljvir Duka conduct weapons training in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
March 15 2007 - Dritan Duka and Sulayman Shain Duka conduct weapons training in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
April 16 2007 - Dritan Duka contacts an arms dealer (an FBI informant) for weaponry.
May 7 2007 - The FBI arrests six members of the group.
December 22 2008 Verdict reached. 5 of 6 plotters found Guilty of Terrorism.
Retrieved hard drive
On the hard drive of a retrieved laptop, the downloaded last will and testament of two September 11 hijackers and militant Islamist recruiting speeches given by Osama bin Laden and others were allegedly recovered.
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