Eight people, including four U.S. residents, were charged in a 50-count indictment with supporting, financing and relaying messages for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Tampa, Fla., was unsealed Thursday, AP reported. It charges that the men are members of the Islamic Jihad, designated by the United States as a "terrorist organization." Among them are a Palestinian professor at the University of South Florida, 45-year-old Sami Amin Al-Arian, who is described as the group's U.S. leader and secretary of its worldwide council.
In Florida, Al-Arian was seen being led in handcuffs to FBI headquarters in Tampa after the arrest. "It's all about politics," Al-Arian told reporters as agents led him inside.
Al-Arian and two others were arrested in Tampa and a fourth man was arrested in Chicago. The other four were living abroad and it was not immediately clear if they had been taken into custody.
Those arrested in the United States Thursday were described as setting up a "terrorist" cell at the University of South Florida. They are:
-Al-Arian, the Florida college professor the government says ran the Jihad's U.S. operations. Al-Arian is a native of Kuwait and teaches engineering.
-Sameeh Hammoudeh, 42, born in the West Bank, now a resident of Temple Terrace, Fla. He also is an instructor at the University of South Florida and administrator at the Islamic Academy of Florida.
-Hatem Naji Farez, 30, born in Puerto Rico and now living in Spring Hill, Fla. He is a manager at a medical clinic.
-Ghassan Zayed Ballut, 41, a West Bank native now living in Tinley Park, Ill., and owner of a small business. (Albawaba.com)
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