North Carolina Arrests Demonstrate The Growing Threat By American Muslim Extremists

The indictment of seven North Carolina men for engaging in weapons training and conspiring to carry out "violent jihad" overseas serves as a troubling reminder of the increasing threat posed by American Muslim extremists.

According to the Department of Justice, the indictment alleges that the men – six U.S. citizens and a permanent resident – conspired to engage in "violent jihad" by traveling abroad to fight with mujahideen, or Muslim warriors, and to die "as martyrs." An eighth suspect, whose name has been redacted from court papers, is reportedly still at large.

According to initial reports, the men helped raise money and provide training for terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv, Israel. However, the indictment does not mention a specific terrorist plot, saying only that several of the men – including Daniel Patrick Boyd, his son Zakariya, and two other defendants Ziyad Yaghi and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan – returned to the U.S. from Tel Aviv in June 2007 after "having failed in their attempt to engage in violent jihad."

The men are said to have amassed various weapons and practiced military tactics and weapons training on a private property in Caswell County, North Carolina in June and July 2009.

For more on this story, see: North Carolina Men Charged With Terror Plot