http://www.wgrz.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=62781989001
Lackawanna Six Suspect Jaber Elbaneh Held in Yemen
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Federal officials say a man accused of
helping recruit men known as the "Lackawanna Six" to train at an al-Qaida terrorist camp has been taken into custody again in his native Yemen.
U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter's office confirmed the development with Two On Your Side.
Jaber Elbaneh is being held and has asked for a lawyer to
defend him against charges he's faced in Western New York since 2002. Federal authorities accuse Elbaneh of recruiting the Lackawanna Six, and bringing them to an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in 2001.
Elbaneh was out of the county when authorities arrested the Lackawanna Six in September of 2002.
The 43-year-old Yemeni-American is on the FBI's list of
most-wanted terrorism suspects. He been held several times by
Yemeni officials since being charged in the U.S. The two countries don't have an extradition treaty.
"We would like to get him back here in the United States for prosecution," said James Robertson, the Special Agent-in-Charge of Buffalo's F.B.I. Office. "He's on our top 28 Most Wanted Terrorists Lists. I think there's a five million dollar reward out for him. It's a matter of high interest to the United States Government."
Elbaneh was previously in custody in Yemen before escaping from a prison with nearly two dozen suspected terrorists in February of 2006.
REPORTER: Is there any concern the same thing could happen again?
ROBERTSON: It's probably possible. I mean… Yemen is difficult country at this point.
The U.S. has ramped up anti-terrorism efforts in Yemen since before a Nigerian man allegedly trained there to bomb a jetliner near Detroit on Christmas.
Web Extra:
Indictment against Jaber Elbaneh (pdf file)
The Associated Press contributed to this report. http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=73783&catid=13
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