New York, May 02: Two former resident of New York City’s Brooklyn neighborhood have been charged with providing al-Qaeda with computer advice and other types of assistance.
According to an indictment unsealed Friday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the men identified as Wesam El-Hanafi, 33, an American citizen, and Sabirhan Hasanoff, 34, a dual citizen of the United States and Australia, are accused of running errands for Osama bin Laden’s network in New York.
“Wesam El-Hanafi and Sabirhan Hasanoff conspired to modernize al Qaeda by providing computer systems expertise and other goods and services,” US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. “These two New Yorkers, who allegedly pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, will now be held to account.”
In February 2008, El-Hanafi traveled to Yemen, where he took an oath of allegiance to al-Qaeda and received assignments from the group, according to the indictment.
Hasanoff traveled to New York City in August 2008 and “performed tasks for al-Qaeda,” the indictment said.
——–Agencies