A second Yemeni national has been burned by a Long Island-bred terror suspect who he helped join al Qaeda.
Ali Alvi al Hamidi, who was brought to the US last year for trial, pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn Tuesday to conspiring to murder US nationals abroad, conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda, and receiving military-type training from the notorious terror group.
“Today’s significant guilty plea demonstrates this office’s unwavering commitment to bring to justice those who fight against US forces or assist al-Qaeda and others in their efforts to kill Americans at home or abroad,” Robert Capers, US Attorney for the Eastern District of the United States, said in a statement.
Alvi and another Yemeni man, Saddiq al-Abbadi, had been charged in a federal complaint in April 2009 in connection with their link to al Qaeda. They were both arrested in Saudi Arabia and subsequently extradited to the United States. The complaint had been kept under seal for nearly five years until the pair was publicly indicted last January. Al Abbadi pleaded guilty to similar charges last May.
Alvi reportedly faces up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced.
Federal authorities say Alvi traveled to tribal areas of Pakistan in March 2008 with the intention of fighting alongside al Qaeda. After growing dissatisfied with al Qaeda leadership, he found his way to Afghanistan, where he fought with the Taliban against coalition forces, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Alvi used his connections within al Qaeda to facilitate Bryant Neal Vinas’ quest to join the terror group.
Vinas was raised in Roman Catholic in Patchogue. He was arrested by Pakistani authorities in 2008 and has since pleaded guilty. He has yet to be sentenced.
Vinas, authorites said, participated in al Qaeda military training exercises and allegedly plotted with al Qaeda to bomb the Long Island Rail Road.
The federal complaint against both men was largely built on testimony from Vinas, who was identified in corresponding court documents as a cooperating witness.
“Vinas will testify to Alvi’s violent activities on behalf of al Qaeda and to Alvi’s desire to attack US forces stationed in Afghanistan,” prosecutors said in court documents last year.
Vinas is one of four Long Islanders authorities have linked to al Qaeda. Two other men were arrested before actually joining any terror groups and another man, Samir Khan, was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. Khan served as an editor for al Qaeda’s English-language magazine, Inspire.
