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Authorities Silent on Ohio Mall Plot Evidence

Experts Say Bombing Wouldn’t Take Huge Resources

By Sara Thorson, The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Details about how close an alleged plot to bomb a shopping mall came to succeeding will not come out until trial. Terrorism experts say someone with a small amount of money, supplies found in most garages and a cell phone could carry out such an attack.

The FBI and federal prosecutors say their silence about evidence against a Columbus man charged with conspiring to blow up an unspecified mall doesn’t mean the plot wasn’t real.

“The plot did exist and it was a serious plot,” FBI spokesman James Turgal said.

Nuradin Abdi, a Somali refugee indicted in June on charges in the alleged plot, was arrested on immigration charges last year on the day after Thanksgiving.

Greg Palmore, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement said authorities had to arrest 32-year-old Abdi to thwart a possible attack.

“Due to the timing and the urgency of the situation, we decided to remove the public from a particularly dangerous situation,” he said. “Timing wise, it couldn’t have been worse. It was going to be the busiest shopping time of the year.”

James Carafano, a senior research fellow in defense and homeland security for Washington-based think tank The Heritage Foundation, said family and friends easily could be oblivious to a small terrorism plot in their midst.

“Think back to Oklahoma City,” he said. “That (bombing) ran below everybody’s radar.”

Carafano said bomb preparations could be kept secret from relatives in a separate work space like a garage.

Objects commonly used in bombings -- fertilizer, vehicles and oxygen tanks to fuel a fire -- are easily accessible, and anyone can find simple Internet tutorials on explosives, Carafano said. The bombs can be constructed using basic tools and common household materials.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to make a car bomb,” he said.

Abdi is accused of plotting with admitted al-Qaida member Iyman Faris. The charges against Abdi include providing material support to al-Qaida, conspiracy to provide material support and document fraud. If convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 80 years in prison.

Faris was sentenced last October to 20 years in prison for crimes that included plotting to cut the cables on New York’s Brooklyn Bridge. The plan was never carried out. His plea agreement requires him to assist federal authorities.

Todd Stewart, director of Ohio State University’s Program for International and Homeland Security, said Faris probably led authorities to Abdi.

“When you have a situation where you start off with a guy like Faris ... law enforcement are going to be looking for acquaintances and associates and are going to try to understand the nature of those relationships,” he said.

Authorities have said that Faris picked up Abdi at the Columbus airport in March 2000 when Abdi returned from military-style training in Ethiopia, and that another man showed Abdi how to make bombs.

Family and friends say Abdi and Faris knew each other from their local mosque, but their connection stopped there. They have said Abdi hated terrorists and is innocent.

They described Abdi as easygoing, active in Columbus’ Somali community and not very religious. Abdi’s family and his attorney say time in federal custody has altered his mental state.

In a June court appearance, Abdi slammed his face onto a glass-covered tabletop, jerked his head and muttered. He is undergoing testing at a federal prison hospital to determine whether he is able to understand the charges and help in his defense.

Yusuf Abucar, a Somali community leader in Columbus who is serving as spokesman for Abdi’s family, called the idea of Abdi being able to carry out a terrorist attack “ridiculous.”

“Nuradin had a small store where he was selling cell phones,” he said. “He lived with his wife and two small children in low-income housing. He was a hardworking family man.”

Abucar said Abdi had just started the cell phone business a few months before his arrest and couldn’t have financed a terrorist attack -- even a small one.

Todd Stewart, director of Ohio State University’s Program for International and Homeland Security, said a mall bombing wouldn’t take a huge amount of money.

“The materials for conventional explosives aren’t that difficult to obtain, legally or illegally, it wouldn’t take a huge investment to bankroll something like that,” he said.

A bomb placed inside or near the building could be triggered by one person with a cell phone from miles away, a method terrorists in the Middle East frequently use, Stewart said.

One or two people could carry out a low-budget bombing, he said.

U.S. Attorney Gregory Lockhart has said in published reports that a third suspect is under surveillance in the case, but has declined to give details.