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 Friday. 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.
Federal prosecutors 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.
"These charges point to the ongoing threat posed by al-Qaida affiliates like AQAP, and the importance of law enforcement collaboration internationally in thwarting them," said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Pham, 29, is in Britain and does not yet have a lawyer in the U.S.
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.
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