Iraq Connection To Albany Terror Arrests

The New York Post reports that the leader of an Albany mosque arrested on terror charges tied to the purchase of a shoulder-fired was listed as "The Commander" in an address book in Iraq:

A government official said U.S. troops who raided a terror training camp run by the Ansar al-Islam group in northern Iraq last summer discovered the address book among other documents.

It contained personal information about Yassin Aref, the 34-year-old Albany imam arrested yesterday along with another mosque leader, the official said.

"His name, address and telephone number in Albany were all in the book," the official said. "His title [in the book] is 'The Commander.' "

Fox News provides some interesting facts from the criminal complaint filed against Yassin Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain. The two are charged with attempting to launder money and conspiring to launder money from illegal activity to fund the purchase and use of a weapon of mass destruction:

The government says that in November, the informant showed Hossain a shoulder-fired surface-to-air and told Hossain that he imports weapons from China to New York City. The informant said Hossain smiled when he saw the and said that he had never seen such a weapon before except on television. The informant also said that Hossain said a lot of money could be made from such an importation.

During a December conversation in Hossain's pizzeria, the informant proposed that Hossain take $50,000 in cash proceeds from the importation, then repay $45,000 of that by writing the informant monthly $2,000 checks and keeping the remaining $5,000 for himself.

"After initially indicating that he did not need that much money, Hossain agreed to the proposal," the complaint charges. Hossain allegedly then said that he could make it appear that the proceeds of the importation had been generated through Hossain's rental properties.

On Dec. 5, Hossain told the informant he had been questioned by FBI agents about others around Albany; they discussed having Aref as a witness to the transactions and Hossain allegedly said Aref is "not afraid of anything. He's only afraid of God."

On Dec. 10, the informant met with Aref and Hossain and discussed the operation for "brother mujahadiin." They wrote down the details of the transaction.

They met again on Jan. 2 to allegedly consummate the deal. Hossain wrote the information down and Aref signed as a witness. Money was continuously changing hands. On Jan. 14, the informant told Aref that he was working with Jaish-e-Mohammed and that the purpose of the was to teach Musharraf a lesson. Aref said the Jaish-e-Mohammed are working for Allah and "it is wise for you to help them if you can."

The complaint is available here [PDF format] via Findlaw.