10 Indicted in New York in Plot to Bomb U.N. Building, Tunnels

NEW YORK — A federal grand jury Wednesday indicted 10 suspects on charges that they plotted to bomb the United Nations and other New York City landmarks, federal prosecutors said.

The men were charged with conspiring to bomb a building in the United Nations headquarters, the federal office building that houses the FBI and two tunnels under the Hudson River that link New York and New Jersey.

Eight of the defendants were named in a complaint filed by prosecutors two weeks ago. The indictment added the name of Earl Gant, who was arrested in Philadelphia last week, and a 10th man who was listed only by his first name, Wahid.

Federal prosecutors would not give any additional information about Wahid except to say he has not yet been arrested.

A federal magistrate in Philadelphia denied bail to Gant on Wednesday and ordered him removed to New York. Bail was also denied to another defendant, Clement Rodney Hampton-El, in a New York proceeding.

Authorities described Hampton-El as having worked closely with Fuqra, a radical Islamic sect whose followers are believed to be responsible for a string of crimes in the United States in recent years.

If convicted, each defendant could face a maximum term of 10 years in prison and fines totaling $500,000.

Investigators had previously said the group planned to assassinate U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.), a staunch supporter of Israel. However, the defendants were not charged with those crimes.

Prosecutors also said during bail hearings for the defendants that some of the suspects discussed the possibility of bombing Manhattan’s Diamond District to kill Jews. That location was not included in the indictment either.

Other defendants named in the indictment are Siddig Ibrahim Siddig Ali, Amir Abdelgani, Fares Khallafalla, Tarig Elhassan, Fadil Abdelgani, Mohammad Saleh and Victor Alvarez.

FBI agents had arrested five of the men during a raid at a New York City garage in which they found the defendants allegedly mixing substances to be used in bombs. A confidential informant, who taped his meetings with the defendants, aided authorities in the investigation.

Prosecutors allege that Siddig Ali, the alleged ringleader of the group, told the confidential informant that Hampton-El was the source for the explosives.