Two California Men Arrested in Ongoing Al Qaeda Probe Posted: June 9, 2005

Federal agents have arrested two men in Lodi, California, after one of them admitted attending Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan. 

Hamid Hayat, 23, and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, both U.S. citizens, were arrested on June 5 by Joint Terrorism Task Force agents and charged with lying to federal authorities. 

It is alleged that Hamid Hayat initially denied attending Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan during interviews with federal authorities.  However, after taking a polygraph examination, authorities say he admitted that he went to the camps between 2003 and 2004 to learn “how to kill Americans.” 

According to an FBI affidavit, Hamid Hayat said the camps provided “structured paramilitary training, including weapons training, explosives training, interior room tactics, hand-to-hand combat and strenuous exercise.”  The affidavit also noted that pictures of U.S. political figures were placed on targets for trainees to shoot at.

The FBI also said that Hamid Hayat specifically requested to come to the U.S. to carry out his “jihadi mission.” Potential targets allegedly would include hospitals and large food stores.

The investigation was reported to have begun last month when Hamid Hayat flew back to the U.S. from Pakistan.  Authorities learned he was on the federal “no-fly” list, according to the affidavit. 

Hamid’s father, Umer Hayat, is charged with lying about his son’s activities in Pakistan.  It was also reported that after agents showed Umer Hayat a video of his son’s confession, he eventually admitted paying for his flight so he could attend the training camp and providing him with an allowance of $100 per month.

Umer Hayat reportedly told FBI agents that his son became interested in terrorist training camps as a teenager at a religious school in Pakistan run by Hamid Hayat’s grandfather.  The school allegedly sent students to a training camp run by a friend of the grandfather.  

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained two other men, Muhammed Adil Khan, the former imam of the Farooqia Islamic Center, and Shabbir Ahmed, the Center’s current imam, for alleged immigration violations after they allegedly met separately with Umer Hayat just prior to his arrest.

Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Khan, who has been working to establish an Islamic charter school for young children in Lodi, condemned the attacks and joined Jewish and Christian leaders in issuing a Declaration of Peace condemning terrorism.