Vancouver Sun

H/T Taffy in Canada

EDMONTON — Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa, a.k.a. Sayfildin Tahir Sharif, the Edmonton man accused of international terrorism, has been charged with aiding in the murder of five American soldiers in a suicide-bomb attack in Iraq in April 2009.

The charges are in connection with the deaths of Staff Sgt. Gary L. Woods, 24, of Lebanon Junction, Kentucky; Sgt. First Class Bryan E. Hall, 32, of Elk Grove, Calif.; Sgt. Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of St. Louis; Cpl. Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Davenport, Iowa; and P.F.C. Bryce E. Gaultier, 22, from Cyprus, Calif.

‘Isa is also charged with conspiring to kill Americans abroad and providing material support to that terrorist conspiracy to kill Americans abroad.

The 38-year-old was charged by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, New York earlier Friday.

‘Isa is being held in segregation at the Edmonton Remand Centre while awaiting an extradition hearing to the United States. The hearing is scheduled to begin on Jan. 30.

If convicted in the U.S., he face a maximum of life in prison.

Previously, the U.S. Attorney’s office had accused ‘Isa of providing support to a terrorist organization and conspiring to kill United States soldiers in Iraq in 2009.

‘Isa was arrested at his Edmonton apartment by RCMP on Jan. 19, 2011 and has been in custody since then.

Court documents have shown that ‘Isa’s communications were monitored using Canadian court-authorized wiretaps and search warrants of his telephone, computer and Internet and email accounts.

Those communications show how cautious the alleged terrorists were about covering their tracks and masking their intentions.

On March 22, 2009, ‘Isa warned a would-be Tunisian suicide bomber not to leave evidence behind, according to the court documents.

“Try to delete everything. I mean everything off your computer. Don’t leave one character of information or anything behind. Don’t leave any of your belongings in the house. Don’t leave any trace.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ‘Isa used multiple aliases, including Faruk Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa, Sayfildin Tahir Sharif and Tahir Sharif Sayfildin.

On April 10, 2009, the five American soldiers were killed when a Tunisian drove a truck full of explosives to the gate of the Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq. The attacker then exchanged fire with Iraqi police officers and an American convoy that was leaving the base, according to the complaint. The truck exploded about 15 metres from the gate, next to the last vehicle in a convoy.

The complaint alleges that one day after the attack, ‘Isa asked an Iraq-based member of the terror network, “Did you hear about the huge incident yesterday? Is it known?”

When the network member replied that he had heard about the attack, ‘Isa allegedly replied: “He was one of the Tunisian brothers.”

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