Four Albanians arrested for attempted attack on U.S. military base

FORT DIX, NEW JERSEY, May 9 – Four Albanians and two other persons were arrested Tuesday in Fort Dix, New Jersey for allegedly plotting to attack the military base.
The four Albanians, Dritan “Anthony” or “Tony” Duka, 28; Shain Duka, 26; Elvir “Elvis” Duka, 23; and Agron Abdullahu, 24, together with Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22 and Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22 were accused of planning to assault the Army base and slaughter scores of U.S. soldiers with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.
Reacting to the news, Albania’s Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha reiterated his country’s support for the United States in the Global War on Terror. “We stand by you, not only in the war abroad, but also in your efforts to confront terrorists here in the United States,” Albanians in Kosova and elsewhere immediately reacted following the news.
Kosovar Prime Minister Agim Ceku strongly condemned this attempted terrorist act and repeated the strong support of the Albanian people to the U.S. at this time.
“There is no need to repeat the extraordinary feeling that Kosova people have for the U.S. and their citizens, nor the despised idea of any Albanian involved in such attacks on a nation that has been so generous till now,” said Ceku in a letter sent to the U.S. mission in Kosova. “Allow me to assure you of our full support and collaboration with all security institutions in Kosova during investigations in the U.S.”
Kosova’s Islamic community issued a statement denouncing any kind of terrorist act, regardless of who plans of commits it. The Islamic community considered the case of Albanians being involved in such a plot as a grave act against a country which they consider a close friend.
All Kosova’s political parties also denounced the plot.
The National Albanian American Council (NAAC) strongly condemned the planned attack on the Fort Dix Army Base.
“As Albanians, we have lost brethren in the World Trade Center in the 9/11 Tragedy and fought willingly besides US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq during the US-led war on terror, suffering significant casualties. We are particularly sensitive about the actions of these individuals, some of whom seem to originate from the Balkans, as others with unsavory political motives may attempt to ascribe these actions to Albanians but, as Albanians, we remain the most pro-American people in the world,” NAAC Executive Director Avni Mustafaj said in an official statement.
Mustafaj further stated that, “Fort Dix is a uniquely special place for Albanians for this is where refugees who fled ethnic cleansing from Kosova into Macedonian refugee camps were brought to the US. We are all relieved that this tragedy was avoided and ask that those who sought to harm innocent American service men and women be brought to justice immediately.”
An unidentified clerk is being credited with tipping off authorities in January 2006 after one of the suspects asked him to transfer a video to DVD that showed 10 men shooting weapons at a firing range and calling for jihad, prosecutors said.
“If we didn’t get that tip,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, “I couldn’t be sure what would happen.” FBI agent J.P. Weis called the clerk the “unsung hero” of the case.
Authorities said there was no direct evidence connecting the men to any international terror organizations such as al-Qaida. But several of the suspects said they were ready to kill and die “in the name of Allah,” prosecutors said in court papers.
Four arrested Albanians were born in the former Yugoslavia, one was born in Jordan and one came from Turkey, authorities said. Three were in the United States illegally; two had green cards allowing them to stay in this country permanently; and the sixth is a U.S. citizen.
Five were charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. military personnel; the sixth, Abdullahu, was charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigrants in obtaining weapons.
Fort Dix was last in the international spotlight in 1999, when it sheltered more than 4,000 ethnic Albanian refugees during the NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.
In addition to plotting the attack on Fort Dix, the defendants spoke of assaulting a Navy installation in Philadelphia during the annual Army-Navy football game and conducted surveillance at other military installations in the region, prosecutors said.
The six were arrested Monday night trying to buy AK-47 assault weapons, M-16s and other weapons from an FBI informant, authorities said. It was not clear when the alleged attack was to take place.
Foreign Minister Basha told the Voice of America in a live television interview in Washington, after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, that the two diplomats also had discussed Albania’s support of the Global War on Terror. Rice and Basha reportedly discussed a broad range of bilateral issues, among them troop contributions in Afghanistan and Iraq and Albania’s Euro-Atlantic integration goals, including NATO membership.