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An American citizen of Yemeni descent from Lackawanna, New York, Alwan and five friends traveled to Afghanistan, trained in an Al Qaeda camp, and met Osama bin Laden in the spring of 2001. Alwan was arrested in September 2002 and has pled guilty to material support of terrorism. He is now serving a 10-year prison sentence. In this interview, Alwan explains why he went to the camp, what it was like meeting bin Laden, and the events that transpired leading up to his arrest. | ||||||||||
The arrest of the six men from Lackawanna -- whom the CIA, in the summer of 2002, called the most dangerous terrorist cell in the country -- was hailed as a victory in the domestic war on terrorism. Each of the six pled guilty to material support of terrorism and each has been sentenced to between seven and 10 year prison terms. Critics, however, have questioned the relatively light sentences for a group believed to be so dangerous. Here, three top government officials discuss the danger of the Lackawanna group. | ||||||||||
A timeline of the Lackawanna group's activities and the events leading up to their arrests. | ||||||||||
The seven Americans charged with providing material support to Al Qaeda. | ||||||||||
A profile of Kamal Derwish, a recruiter of the Lackawanna cell -- and a casualty of the U.S. war against terrorism. | ||||||||||
A profile of Juma Al Dosari, believed to be another of the Lackawanna group's recruiters, who is now an enemy combatant in U.S. custody | ||||||||||
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home + introduction + inside a "sleeper cell" + tools of counterterrorism + defending the homeland posted october 16, 2003 FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of wgbh educational foundation.
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