A third of six Yemeni-American men accused of being part of a U.S. al Qaeda “sleeper cell” pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges he supported the militant Islamic network of Osama bin Laden. Yahya Goba, 26, who was unemployed but known for teaching language and religion in his community, admitted to “providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations” — one count of his October 2002 indictment under a 1996 anti-terrorism law. Under the plea agreement, Goba faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Scheduled for sentencing on July 17, he had faced a maximum of 15 years. The six men are U.S. citizens of Yemeni descent from the faded steel town of Lackawanna, New York, near Buffalo on the Canadian border. They were arrested in September 2002 on charges they attended an al Qaeda training camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2001. They initially pleaded not guilty. None was accused of involvement in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States or other acts of violence believed masterminded by bin Laden. They denied being members of a “sleeper cell” planning violence, as alleged by U.S. prosecutors. Full Story
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