SARGODHA, Pakistan — Five American students caught in Pakistan last year were charged Wednesday with terrorism-related offenses, and they’ll face a full trial and the prospect of a jail sentence. The men alleged that Pakistani police had tortured them.
The men, all Muslims from 18 to 24 years old from Washington, D.C., suburbs, were arrested in the central Pakistani town of Sargodha in December. They had traveled to Pakistan after making contact with an Islamic extremist over the Internet.
Shahid Kamal, their defense lawyer, told McClatchy Newspapers that there were six charges against the men.
“The crux of the charges is that they tried to wage war against Pakistan and its allies, that they tried to fund proscribed organizations, and that they induced and directed people to commit terrorist acts,” Kamal said.
“We will be able to rebut the charges, and these people will go free,” Kamal said.
U.S. missile kills militant linked to CIA base bombing
An al-Qaida militant, Hussein al-Yemeni, suspected of playing a key role in a suicide bombing at a CIA base in eastern Afghanistan, died last week in Pakistan, apparently in a retaliatory missile strike by a CIA drone, a U.S. counterterrorism official said Wednesday. Four CIA officers, three agency security guards and a senior Jordanian intelligence officer died in the suicide bombing at a top-secret CIA facility in Khost, Afghanistan. The bombing was carried out by a Jordanian double agent recruited to spy on al-Qaida and was a huge embarrassment to the CIA.
Israel: West Bank reopens
Israel on Wednesday lifted its tight restrictions on Palestinian access to Jerusalem’s holiest shrine and called off an extended West Bank closure after days of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces. Despite moving to end the lockdown, Israel still kept thousands of police officers on alert as an uneasy calm settled over the holy city. While there were no reports of new clashes in Jerusalem, sporadic violence broke out Wednesday in the West Bank. The most serious incident occurred in the northern city of Nablus, where dozens of Palestinian youths hurled rocks at Israeli security forces, some using slingshots and even a shovel to increase their range.
Pennsylvania: VA fined for flawed cancer treatments
The Department of Veterans Affairs was fined $227,500 after incorrect radiation doses were given to 97 veterans with prostate cancer at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, a federal agency announced Wednesday. The VA was cited for lacking procedures to ensure and verify the treatments were done correctly, failing to properly train staff and neglecting to immediately report mistakes.
Pittsburgh man finds cold intruder in bed with him
Police say a 33-year-old man broke into a Pittsburgh home and climbed into bed with its owner, apparently because he was drunk and cold after a rap concert. Homeowner Frank Fontana says he was in bed when the man climbed in about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. Fontana says he asked whether it was a woman who has keys to his home — and he grabbed a baseball bat when a deep male voice answered, “No, it’s not.” Police say Fontana kept the man at bay until police arrived but didn’t hit him with the bat.
Texas: Broken shaft likely caused fatal bus crash
A broken drive shaft likely caused a Mexico-bound bus to veer wildly on a Texas interstate about 45 miles from San Antonio before flipping over, killing two passengers and injuring 40 others on board, investigators said Wednesday. The drive shaft, which transfers power from the engine to the wheels, apparently fell off before the Americanos USA bus carrying 42 people careened from the right lane toward the median and spun wildly, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said.
From Herald news services
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