Two Brooklyn professionals charged of being Jihadists for Al-Qaeda

NEW YORK - A federal indictment has charged two Brooklyn men, Wesam (Khaled) El-Hanafi, 33, and Sabirhan (Tareq) Hasanoff, 34, with trying to modernize an Al Qaeda cell in Yemen. They had been apprehended in Dubai and taken to the US to face court proceedings and investigations into their role in the Al Qaeda.

Though the vaguely worded court papers raised as many questions as answers, sources said the two were to act as technical attachis for the Al Qaeda the Daily News reports.

Both the accused are qualified professionals from Brooklyn, one is a computer engineer while the other is an accountant.

Their operations included buying seven digital Casio watches to be shipped overseas. The indictment doesn’t mention the reason for doing so, but the timepieces have been used in the past by terrorists to make bombs.

“They were high-tech guys, and would have wanted more high-tech solutions, but were told to buy Casio because they worked the best - nothing fancier,” a law enforcement source told the paper.

A far cry from the average profile of the Jihadist, the two men are well-educated, have degrees from Baruch, impressive resumes and families, and even their neighbours did not have the slightest inkling of the duo’s activities, the paper said.

They also have enviable credentials, having worked in top-notch firms like Lehman Bros and the likes, it added. (ANI)