Give us your tired -your poor- your jihadi masses - Fort Dix terror plotter lived on base as Albanian refugee in 1999

11:48 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 9, 2007

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Friends and neighbors of the men charged with plotting a rampage at New Jersey's Fort Dix Army base said Wednesday that they had started to notice subtle changes in them: a newly grown beard, a recently built backyard woodshed, talk of leisurely target shooting practice.

"We would always joke around," said 20-year-old Mario Tummilo, who used to work with suspect Serdar Tatar. They played basketball together and talked about Nikes, rap music and girls. "He was just like a normal American person."

Mr. Tummilo didn't think much of it when he brought up hunting season and Mr. Tatar – a 23-year-old Turkish national – mentioned that he shot guns in Pennsylvania with friends.

"It all makes sense now," Mr. Tummilo said. "They must have been planning this for a long time."

Mr. Tatar, who used to deliver pizza, was one of six foreign-born men – described by authorities as "radical Islamists" – charged Tuesday in the plot that involved a deadly attack with machine guns and semiautomatic weapons.

Those who knew the young suspects say there were no hints that they hated the U.S. They seemed to blend right into their quiet communities, taking jobs at the local 7-11 or driving a cab.

Mr. Tummilo said Mr. Tatar, who prayed in the back of his father's pizza parlor during his work shifts, talked about Islamic principles of peace and nonviolence.

Three brothers – Eljvir Duka, 23, Dritan Duka, 28, and Shain Duka, 26 – were ethnic Albanians from the former Yugoslavia who worked at a family roofing business in Cherry Hill. Authorities say they were living in the U.S. illegally.

Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22, a native of Jordan, and Mr. Tatar are legal residents. All five were charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. military personnel, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

A sixth man – Agron Abdullahu, 24, who was born in the former Yugoslavia and lived as a legal resident in Buena Vista Township, N.J. – was charged with aiding and abetting an illegal weapons purchase.

The investigation began more than a year ago after a New Jersey store clerk was asked to transfer a videotape onto a DVD. The tape showed 10 men shooting weapons at a firing range and calling for jihad, prosecutors said. The 10 included the six men under arrest, authorities said.

On Wednesday, one Justice Department official said authorities were particularly interested in finding evidence linking Mr. Abdullahu to the plot.

Federal authorities said the men were on the verge of carrying out the attack when they were arrested this week.

"I think they were in the last stage of planning," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said. "They had training, they had maps, and I think they were very close to moving on this.

"Our view was they had pretty much gotten to concluding the planning phase of this and were looking to obtain heavy weaponry – and if not from us, they were going to try to obtain it elsewhere."

Though it was not clear when the alleged attack was to take place, members of the group were arrested Monday night as they tried to buy AK-47 assault weapons, M-16s and other weapons from an FBI informant, authorities said.

Several FBI and Justice Department officials said they were certain that the plot began and ended with the six men in custody – despite some suggestions in court documents that there were other accomplices.

Mr. Abdullahu was familiar with Fort Dix because he landed there when arriving in the U.S. as a refugee from Kosovo, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. allowed thousands of refugees into this country after it intervened in the 1998-99 Kosovo war. Mr. Abdullahu arrived at Fort Dix as a teenager in 1999 as part of a group of about 4,400 refugees from Kosovo, officials said.

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