Psssst... george... they're already here... and they didn't come from Iraq...

6 held on terror conspiracy charges in N.J.
Men from ex-Yugoslavia allegedly plotted to attack Fort Dix military base

NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 36 minutes ago

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - Six men were arrested overnight on charges they plotted to attack the Fort Dix Army base and "kill as many soldiers as possible," federal authorities said Tuesday.

The men are all from the former Yugoslavia, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey. Five of them lived in Cherry Hill, he said.

Drewniak said the six were scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Camden later Tuesday to face charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. servicemen.

The arrests were first reported by WNBC's Jonathan Dienst. WNBC is the flagship NBC television station for the New York tri-state area.

Investigators told WNBC that the group discussed a number of possible targets, including the Dover Air base, Fort Monmouth and Coast Guard stations, but that they concluded the best target was Fort Dix.

Fort Dix, which is run in part by the U.S. Army, is a reserve training center but active units also take part in training at the base, some of which is focused on counter-terrorism. It also housed refugees from Kosovo in 1999.

No attack imminent

Investigators told NBC’s Pete Williams that the plot was in the planning stages but was not imminent.


Continued @ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18549005/

The suspects were described as “Islamic radicals,” said U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Greg Reinert.

(snip)

Authorities believe the men trained in the Poconos for the attack and also conducted surveillance at other area military institutions, including Fort Monmouth, the official said. The official said that the men had lived in the United States for some time.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18549005/

"They are not charged with being members of an international terrorism organization," Snow said. "At least at this point, there is no evidence that they received direction from international terror organizations. However, their involvement in weapons training, operational surveillance and discussions about killing American military personnel warranted a strong law enforcement response."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18549005/