- Ahmed Bilal
Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal was a member of a terrorist group dubbed the
Portland Seven , some members of which attempted to travel toAfghanistan shortly after9/11 in order to aid theTaliban . He was indicted and arrested inMalaysia in October of2002 . In2003 , he was sentenced to ten years on gun charges and for conspiracy to aid theTaliban in fighting theUnited States and coalition forces.Ahmed Bilal and the
Portland Seven Patrice Lumumba Ford , Jeffrey Leon Battle, October Martinique Lewis (Battle's ex-wife), his brother Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal, Maher "Mike" Hawash, andHabis Abdulla al Saoub made up the original seven members wanted by the FBI.According to the
FBI , in plea agreements Muhammad and Ahmed Bilal admitted to engaging in martial arts and firearms in order to prepare themselves for militaryjihad inAfghanistan or elsewhere:On
September 29 ,2001 , Battle, Ford and al Saoub were discovered while engaged in shooting practice in a gravel pit inSkamania County ,Washington . Also present wasAli Khalid Steitiye , who did not become an indicted member of the Portland Seven on terrorism charges, but who was separately charged with other crimes.According to the indictment, on
October 17 ,2001 , Battle and al Saoub flew out ofPortland International Airport en route toAfghanistan . OnOctober 20 ,2001 , Ford and the two Bilals also took the same route out of the United States.The six male members of the group travelled to
China in early 2002, with the intent of entering Afghanistan to aid the Taliban. Lacking visas and other documentation, they were turned back, and all but al Saoub then returned again to the United States.On Thursday,
October 3 ,2002 , a federal grand jury inUnited States District Court for the District of Oregon , at Portland, Oregon, indicted Battle, Ford, the two Bilals, al Saoub and Lewis. OnOctober 4 ,2002 , four of the suspects were arrested, but Ahmed Bilal and al Saoub were both considered fugitives. [ [http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:gp0eLgTBOtgJ:portland.fbi.gov/pressrel/2002/itarrest.htm+Patrice+Lumumba+Ford,+Jeffrey+Leon+Battle,+October+Martinique+Lewis&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=7 FBI’S Joint Terrorism Task Force Arrests Four on Terrorism Charges, Two Others Who Were Indicted Are Now Fugitives] , FBI Press Release, Portland Field Office, Google Cache, October 4, 2002]Al Saoub was killed by
Pakistan i forces in Afghanistan while part of anal Qaeda cell. Ford and Battle are each serving eighteen-year sentences. Lewis was sentenced to three years in a federal prison camp. Muhammad Bilal got eight years. Hawash was sentenced to seven years.According to
Front Page Magazine , Bilal was influenced by and expressed approval of the9/11 attacks, saying, "All those Jewish people deserved to rot and die." [http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=7659]References
External links
* [http://www.oregonlive.com/special/terror/index.ssf?/special/oregonian/terror/021004.html The Oregonian's news archive]
* [http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=62613 "Recordings reveal Portland Seven's brutal mindset" article with pictures of Bilal brothers]
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