Authorities arrested two leaders of a mosque in Albany, N.Y., early Thursday and charged them with aiding in a purported plot to buy a shoulder-fired grenade launcher to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat.
According to an FBI affidavit,Yassin Muhiddin Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain laundered money for the purchase of the launcher that supposedly was to be used to assassinate a Pakistani ambassador at his country’s consulate across from the United Nations in New York. The plot supposedly was meant to punish Pakistan for cooperating with non-Muslims.
In fact, there was no such plot. The purchase of the RPG-7 grenade launcher and the assassination scheme were fabrications put forth by a convicted felon secretly cooperating with federal prosecutors to reduce his prison sentence on document fraud charges.
At a news conference, Deputy Atty. Gen. James Comey acknowledged there was no genuine threat of any terrorist attack. “This is not the case of the century,” he said.
However, Comey said the case was meant to send a message to terrorists and their sympathizers.
“Anyone engaging in terrorist planning would be very wise to consider whether their accomplice is not really one of our guys,” he said.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com) and Michael Morgan (mnmorgan@tribune.com)
