A United States District Court has “sentenced three American members of Lashkar-e-Toiba, including a Pakistani-born American citizen, for plotting ‘jihad'” in Kashmir.
Lashkar-e-Toiba, “Army of the Pure,” is a radical Muslim group dedicated to restoring Islamic rule not only in Kashmir, but in all of India.
“The three have been sentenced by a Virginia court to prison terms ranging from three to 11 years following guilty pleas in August to conspiracy and weapons charges to escape harsher sentence. . . .
“US District Judge, Leonie M. Brinkema, in Alexandria yesterday sentenced Yong Ki Kwon, 27, a naturalised US citizen of Fairfax, Khwaja Mahmood Hasan, 27, a Pakistani-born US citizen who lived in Alexandria, and Donald T. Surratt, 30, a former US soldier of Suitland.
“The three men were among 11 named in a 41-count indictment handed up in June in a conspiracy to ‘prepare for and engage in violent jihad’ against foreign targets.
“Nine of the 11 were identified as US citizens. A fourth person, Mohammed Aatiq, a Pakistani national living in Pennsylvania, has also plead[ed] guilty. He will be sentenced next month.
“Hasan and Kwon could have received life sentences, while Surratt faced up to 15 years. All three have agreed to cooperate with authorities in the government’s ongoing investigation.”