Two Iraqis With Ties To Al Qaeda Living In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Charged With Terrorism.

Bowling Green Iraqis face terrorism charges
Federal indictment: Two Bowling Green residents involved in a conspiracy to provide support, weapons to al-Qaida
By DEBORAH HIGHLAND

LOUISVILLE — Two Iraqi refugees living in Bowling Green were arraigned today on federal terrorism charges - including accusations of attempting to kill U.S. troops with explosive devices in Iraq.

Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, are charged in a 23-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Bowling Green on May 26. The men made their initial federal court appearance today in Louisville.

Alwan is accused of conspiring to kill U.S. nationals overseas, conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against U.S. nationals overseas, distributing information on how to manufacture and use improvised explosive devices, attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to al-Qaida in Iraq and conspiring to transfer, possess and export Stinger missiles.

Hammadi is charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to al-Qaida in Iraq, as well as conspiracy to transfer, possess and export Stinger missiles.

The men were arrested Wednesday in Bowling Green. The FBI set up a mobile command center behind the Bowling Green Police Department headquarters last week, where FBI agents in camouflage, body armor and suits could be seen moving between the mobile command center and the BGPD.

In September 2009, the FBI began investigating Alwan, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. The FBI later began using a confidential source to meet with and record conversations with Alwan in August and with Hammadi in January. In meetings with the confidential source, Alwan allegedly discussed his previous activities as an insurgent in Iraq from 2003 until his capture by Iraqi authorities in May 2006 - including apparent use of IEDs and sniper rifles to target U.S. forces, according to the release.

Each man could serve life in prison if convicted of all the charges in the indictment.

Their arrests stem from a two-year investigation. Neither is charged with planning attacks on sites in the U.S., according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

The men, through their attorneys, have asked for a detention hearing, which will be held sometime next week in federal court.

Two fingerprints belonging to Alwan were found on a component of an unexploded IED recovered by U.S. forces near Bayji, Iraq, according to the news release from the Department of Justice. IEDs have killed or injured thousands of American troops.

Alwan apparently recruited Hammadi to assist him in attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida, according to the news release from the Department of Justice.

The Department of Justice believes the men are the first people to date to be charged in federal court with attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida in Iraq.

“Over the course of roughly eight years, Waad Ramadan Alwan allegedly supported efforts to kill U.S. troops in Iraq, first by participating in the construction and placement of improvised explosive devices in Iraq, and more recently by attempting to ship money and weapons from the United States to insurgents in Iraq,” said Todd Hinnen, acting assistant attorney general for national security, in the news release. “His co-defendant, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, is accused of many of the same activities.”

Alwan entered the U.S. in April 2009 and has lived in Bowling Green since his arrival. Hammadi entered the U.S. in July 2009 in Las Vegas and moved to Bowling Green in December 2009.

The men are part of a large refugee population living in Bowling Green. From April 30, 2010, to April 30, some 63 Iraqis have entered Bowling Green as refugees, according Becky Jordan, Kentucky state refugee coordinator for the Kentucky Office for Refugees.

“The filing of these charges in Bowling Green, Kentucky, underscores the readiness of federal law enforcement authorities and our partners in the joint terrorism task forces to effectively pursue and prosecute terrorists wherever in the United States they may be found,” said David Hale, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, in the news release.

Both men entered the courtroom this morning in leg shackles and black-and-white striped prison uniforms. Alwan looked into the courtroom packed full of spectators of federal employees and then stared straight ahead. Hammadi sat in the courtroom smiling.

Editor's note: Read the press release here, Alwin Complaint, Hammadi complaint, and the joint indictment.

Yes, Al Qaeda is in all places, including Bowling Green.

That is scary. They most likely came across our borders without a second look.