U.S. govt reveals militant's deadly plot<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (Reuter): Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, seeking to punish
\nAmerica for its support of Israel, plotted bombings of 12 U.S.
\njets last year in an attempt to kill more than 4,000 passengers
\nin two days, the prosecution said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Federal prosecutor Michael Garcia leveled the accusation in
\nopening arguments in the case against Yousef and two other
\ndefendants on charges they conspired to destroy the jumbo jets as
\nthey returned to the United States from the Far East.<\/p>\n
\"All three defendants dreamed of terror in the sky,\" Garcia
\ntold the Manhattan federal jury. He said the Delta, Northwest and
\nUnited planes, some of which carry as many as 400 passengers,
\nwere headed back to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and New
\nYork.<\/p>\n
His comments were the first details of the plot released by
\nthe government since the defendants' arrests.<\/p>\n
Garcia told the jury a letter found in Yousef's laptop
\ncomputer said the purpose of the bombings was \"vengeance and
\nretribution\" against the United States for its financial,
\npolitical and military support of Israel. \"These defendants
\nwanted to punish American civilians until the U.S. changed its
\nforeign policy towards Israel,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Later this year, Yousef, 28, will also be tried on charges
\nthat he masterminded the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center
\nthat killed six and injured more than 1,000 people.<\/p>\n
In the current case, Moslem militants Yousef and co-defendants
\nAbdul Hakim Murad, 28, and Wali Khan Amin Shah, 29, are on trial
\nfor their role in what they allegedly called the \"Bojinka\"
\nproject aimed at destroying U.S. airplanes.<\/p>\n
\"The purpose of this Bojinka plot was terror,\" Garcia said.
\n\"Plane after plane exploding over the Pacific Ocean.\"<\/p>\n
Yousef is also charged with placing a bomb on board a
\nPhilippine Airlines flight from Manila to Tokyo on Dec. 11, 1994
\nas a trial run for the later massive explosions. The bomb
\nexploded under the seat of a Japanese passenger, killing him and
\ninjuring 10 other people.<\/p>\n
Yousef, who is also known by 11 other names, holds an Iraqi
\npassport but claims Pakistani and Palestinian heritage. He was
\ncaptured in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Feb. 8, 1995 and was returned
\nhere to stand trial.<\/p>\n
On the trip to the United States, Yousef allegedly gave FBI
\nagents a 56-page account of the World Trade Center bombing
\nincluding details on how the bomb was made.<\/p>\n
In statements released through his lawyer last year, he called
\nIsrael an illegal state and accused its government of systematic
\nmurder and torture of Palestinians. He also said Palestinians
\nhave the right to attack U.S. targets because of American support
\nof Israel.<\/p>\n
In the eight-page statement, Yousef said his real name was
\nAbdul-Basit Balochi and he was an electronics engineer and
\nexplosives expert. He said he came from Pakistan and had family
\nin both Iraq and Israel.<\/p>\n
The plot to bomb the airliners was uncovered on Jan. 6, 1995
\nwhen a fire broke out in a Manila apartment where Yousef and
\nMurad were mixing chemicals. Yousef fled the country but Murad
\nwas arrested when he returned to the apartment.<\/p>\n
The federal indictment alleges that police found in the
\napartment nitroglycerine, bomb-making equipment, manuals with
\nbomb formulas, a computer with information on airline flights,
\ntimers for detonating bombs and the letter threatening to attack
\nAmerican targets.<\/p>\n
Officials say Yousef has also been involved in other terrorist
\nplots across Asia. The allegations include helping plan an
\nattempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II during the pontiff's
\nvisit to Manila. He has also bragged of plots to kill U.S.
\nPresident Bill Clinton.<\/p>",
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