Asia-Pacific

Man arrested for allegedly aiding Taliban

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-16 09:17

LOS ANGELES - The FBI has arrested a man in Los Angeles for allegedly providing financing and other material support to the Pakistani Taliban, US authorities announced on Saturday.

Irfan Khan, 37, was among three people arrested on the same charges, according to the FBI.

Authorities described Khan as a resident of Miami, Florida. It' s unclear why he was in Los Angeles.

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In total, prosecutors indicted six people: Khan, two others arrested in Florida and three still at large in Pakistan, according to a report of The Los Angeles Times.

The alleged ringleader was Hafiz Khan, 76, the imam of a mosque in Miami.

The arrests were part of a federal investigation into a Florida family of Pakistani expatriates that allegedly funneled money directly to religious extremists, the FBI said.

The money was funding a "jihad" to topple the Pakistani government and fight the United States, said the FBI.

"All six defendants are charged with conspiring to provide, and providing, material support to a conspiracy to murder, maim and kidnap persons overseas, as well as conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically, the Pakistani Taliban. Defendants Khan, Rehman and Zeb are also charged with providing material support to the Pakistani Taliban," the US Justice Department said in a statement.

"Today terrorists have lost another funding source to use against innocent people and US interests. We will not allow this country to be used as a base for funding and recruiting terrorists, " John V. Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami office, said in a statement.

Khan will appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday and could face 15 years in prison for each count if convicted.