US man gets more than 7 years over 2009 ISI bombing

Published June 20, 2015
Reaz Khan leaves the the US Federal Court building in Portland, Oregon. — AP
Reaz Khan leaves the the US Federal Court building in Portland, Oregon. — AP

LOS ANGELES: A US man who gave money to a suicide bomber who attacked a headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence service was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Friday, prosecutors said.

Reaz Qadir Khan, 51, a naturalised US citizen living in Portland, Oregon had previously pleaded guilty in a US court to providing material support to terrorists.

Khan admitted arranging for the delivery of approximately $2,450 to Maldivian Ali Jaleel, one of the suicide bombers responsible for the May 27, 2009 attack on Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence headquarters in Lahore which killed 30 people and injured 300 more.

The government said at the time that the attack, believed to have been carried out by Jaleel and two other people, was in apparent revenge for an army offensive against Taliban militants in the country's northwestern Swat region.

Take a look: Oregon man admits helping people linked to 2009 ISI bombing

Khan also admitted to providing advice and financial assistance to Jaleel's wives after the bombing, “while knowing that providing such assistance would hinder and prevent the apprehension of Jaleel's wives and others who may have helped in the attack,” prosecutors said.

“With today's sentence, the court held the defendant accountable and made it clear that no community should be subjected to the dangers posed by those seeking to assist violent extremists whether here or abroad,” said Acting US Attorney Billy Williams.

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