Exclusive: Vietnamese Immigrant Accused of Helping al-Qaida in Yemen

He is being charged in New York

June 29, 2012

By Jonathan Dienst and Shimon Prokupecz

A Vietnamese immigrant has been charged in New York for his alleged role in helping al-Qaida in Yemen.

Minh Quang Pham was arrested in Britain. He is accused of traveling to Yemen to train with members of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP.

Pham is also accused of helping the group with its online propaganda efforts. Investigators said he was in Yemen from December 2010 through July 2011.

Sources familiar with the case said he met with numerous leaders of AQAP in Yemen, including the terror group's then leader, Anwar al-Awlaki, and Samir Khan, editor of its English-language magazine "Inspire," and took a loyalty oath. Both Americans-turned-terror leaders were killed in a drone strike last September.

Security officials have said AQAP has become the leading overseas terror threat to the U.S.

Two underwear bomb plots, including one that targeted a Detroit-bound jetliner as well as a plot to bomb cargo planes in 2010, originated in Yemen.

As for Pham, the court papers said he played a role in creating online propaganda for AQAP.  He is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.