American charged with aiding al Qaeda

An American-born man living in Long Island, New York has been indicted on charges that he aided al Qaeda and helped attack a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

Twenty-six year old Bryant Neal Vinas, who converted to Islam at a Long Island mosque, was arrested in Peshawar, Pakistan after trying to kill GI’s in September 2008 by firing rockets at the military base.

Prosecutors alleged that Vinas, who is also known as “Ibrahim,” “Bashir al-Ameriki” and Ben Yameen al Kandee,” provided al Qaeda with information about the New York transit system and the LIR.

The American is charged with conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization.