Terrorist plots uncovered in the US since 9/11

Barot, alleged leader of a terrorist cell, was arrested in London for plotting to attack the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup Center in Manhattan, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, and Prudential Financial Inc.'s headquarters in Newark, N.J. A July 2004 police raid on Barot's house in Pakistan unearthed several files on a laptop computer, including instructions for a plot in Britain known as the "Gas Limos Project," as well as company histories and organizational charts for the US targets. Barot, a Briton and former Hindu who converted to Islam, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mass murder. He was sentenced to 40 years; in May 2007 his sentence was reduced to 30 years.

James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj – August 2004

The two were charged with plotting to place explosive devices at the Herald Square subway station near Madison Square Garden in New York before the Republican National Convention. Government evidence included hours of secretly recorded conversations between Siraj and Osama Eldawoody, an Egyptian nuclear engineer who became a paid informant for the New York Police Department's intelligence division, and who testified against Elshafay and Siraj. Siraj, a Pakistan national, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Elshafay, a US citizen, pleaded guilty and received a reduced sentence for testifying against Siraj.

Yassin Araf and Mohmmad Hossein – August 2004

Federal agents and local police raided the Masjid As-Salam mosque in Albany, N.Y., and charged Araf, a Kurdish refugee, and Hossein, the Bangladesh-born founder of the mosque, with plotting to buy a shoulder-fired grenade launcher to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat in New York. The charges stemmed from an FBI sting operation, in which an informant solicited the two men to help him carry out the "assassination." Aref and Hossain were found guilty of money laundering and conspiracy to conceal material support for terrorism and later sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Lodi case – June 2005

Two US citizens – Umer Hayat, a Pakistani immigrant, and Hamid Hayat, his American-born son – were arrested in the rural Central Valley town of Lodi, Calif., after allegedly lying to the FBI about Hamid's attendance at an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan. Hamid Hayat was found guilty of supporting terrorism and was sentenced to 24 years. His father's trial ended in a mistrial. He later pleaded guilty to lying to customs agents in attempt to carry $28,000 into Pakistan.

Los Angeles plot – August 2005

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