2 Pakistani Al-Qaeda terrorists busted in Lodi, California

2 Men Held in Links to Terror

FBI arrests father and son shortly after the younger man returns from overseas, where he allegedly trained at an Al Qaeda camp.

By Greg Krikorian and Rone Tempest, Times Staff Writers

LODI, Calif. — FBI agents have arrested a man and his father after the son allegedly admitted attending Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan that taught participants "how to kill Americans," federal authorities said Tuesday.

In a case that was still unfolding, officials confirmed that Hamid Hayat, 23, and his father, Umer, 47, were taken into custody Sunday. Authorities said late Tuesday that they were still trying to determine whether the arrests represented the discovery of a small network of Al Qaeda sympathizers operating in the agricultural town of Lodi, 40 miles south of Sacramento.

The arrests came days after the younger man was discovered aboard a San Francisco-bound plane even though his name appeared on a "No Fly" list of suspected extremists.

At the time, according to an FBI affidavit, Hayat was returning to the U.S. after having visited Pakistan.

According to the affidavit, he told agents that after attending Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, he was given his pick of where to carry out his terrorist mission.

"Hamid advised that he specifically requested to come to the United States to carry out his jihadi mission," the affidavit says. "Potential targets for attack would include hospitals and large food stores."

While Hayat and his father remained in custody on charges of lying to federal authorities, family members denied that the ice cream truck driver or his son, who works in a fruit-packing plant, had any links to terrorism.

The cousin said Hayat's most recent trip to Pakistan had nothing to do with terrorism.

Last Friday, according to the affidavit, Hayat was interviewed by FBI agents in Sacramento and specifically asked if he had ever attended any terrorist training camps.

He said he would never be involved with extremists

The next day, Hayat voluntarily arrived at the FBI's Sacramento office with his father to take a polygraph examination the agents requested.

After the test indicated some deception in his answers, Hayat acknowledged that he had attended a training camp in Pakistan for six months in 2003 and 2004, according to the affidavit.

Hayat described the camp as providing training in weapons, explosives, hand-to-hand combat and other paramilitary exercises, the affidavit says.

During his weapons training, he said, photos of various high-ranking U.S. political figures including President Bush were pasted onto the targets and he and others were trained on "how to kill Americans," according to the agent's statement.

Hayat also said he observed hundreds of people from various parts of the world attending the camps.

His father, according to the affidavit, also told FBI agents at first that there were no terrorist training camps in Pakistan.

But after being shown a videotape of his son's statement, the affidavit says, Umer Hayat told agents he had supported his son's time in Pakistan by, among other things, providing him a $100 monthly allowance, knowing that his intention was to attend a terrorist camp.

The elder Hayat also allegedly told authorities that he observed training in weapons and urban warfare at several camps, the affidavit says.

Lodi has a sizable Pakistani population.


Update: San Fran Chronicle link here.