Triangle terror suspects face new charges

Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, and Hysen Sherifi, 24, planned an attack on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., according to an indictment handed down Thursday. Boyd scouted out the base and obtained maps of it, and he had armor-piercing ammunition "to attack the Americans," the indictment states.

Boyd, his sons, Dylan Boyd, 22, and Zakariya "Zak" Boyd, 20, and four other men – Sherifi, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, Ziyad Yaghi, 21, and Anes Subasic, 33 – were indicted in July on charges that they plotted to murder, kidnap, maim and injure people overseas. They are being held without bond at a prison in Virginia.

An eighth suspect, Jude Kenan Mohammad, 20, is believed to be in Pakistan.

Authorities claim the group was preparing to wage "violent jihad," but until Thursday, no specific targets or time frame were mentioned. Prosecutors cited trips members of the group made overseas in recent years, weapons purchases, fundraising efforts and military-style training conducted in the woods of Caswell County.

Quantico officials issued a statement late Thursday saying the charges were the result of cooperation between the Marine Corps, the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

"This case represents the close coordination between NCIS and FBI in addressing terrorism issues that may impact the operational readiness of the U.S. military," the statement said.

The new indictment also charges Daniel Boyd, Zak Boyd and Sherifi with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and Daniel Boyd with providing a rifle and ammunition to a convicted felon.

“These additional charges hammer home the grim reality that today’s homegrown terrorists are not limiting their violent plans to locations overseas, but instead are willing to set their sights on American citizens and American targets, right here at home,” U.S. Attorney George Holding said in a statement.

Former FBI agent Frank Perry, who has no involvement in the case, said the new indictment may have been handed down later for a reason.

“They may have wanted to wait to inform the Marine Corp. and Quantico officials and the other agencies on site there about this and there may have been some national security reason not to divulge it earlier,” Perry said.

No one answered the door Thursday at the Boyds' house in Willow Spring, and neighbors said they haven't seen anyone around the house in a while.

A trial in the case isn't expected to begin until late 2010, at the earliest. A federal judge has given prosecutors until Dec. 17 to declassify documents and other evidence they plan to use in the case so that defense attorneys can begin reviewing it and preparing their case.