UPLAND, Calif. — Four Southern California men have been charged with plotting to kill Americans and destroy U.S. targets overseas by joining al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, federal officials said Monday.
The defendants, including a man who served in the U.S. Air Force, were arrested and charged with plotting to bomb military bases and government facilities, and for planning to engage in “violent jihad,” FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
A federal complaint unsealed Monday says Sohiel Omar Kabir, 34, of Pomona introduced two of the other men to the radical Islamist doctrine of Anwar al-Awlaki, a now-deceased al Qaeda leader. Mr. Kabir served in the Air Force from 2000 to 2001.
The other two — Ralph Deleon, 23, of Ontario, and Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales, 21, of Upland — converted to Islam in 2010 and began engaging with Mr. Kabir and others online in discussions about jihad, including posting radical content to Facebook and expressing extremist views in comments.
They later recruited Arifeen David Gojali, 21, of Riverside.
FLORIDA
Girl, 13, fatally shot on school bus
MIAMI — A 13-year-old girl was fatally shot in front of her sister and several other students while riding the bus to a charter school Tuesday, Miami-Dade police said.
A male student was in custody but authorities did not release his name or age and said they are still interviewing him. A gun was also recovered at the scene in Homestead, south of Miami, but authorities didn’t say where or how many times the victim was shot.
“We still don’t know what the motive may have been,” said police spokesman Detective Alvaro Zabaleta.
Eight other children, including the victim’s 7-year-old sister, were on the bus but were not harmed.
Authorities took the children and the bus driver to a police station to be interviewed.
CALIFORNIA
San Francisco board OKs limit on public nakedness
SAN FRANCISCO — City lawmakers disappointed committed nudists on Tuesday by narrowly approving limits on public nakedness despite concerns the measure would undermine the city’s reputation as a sanctuary for free expression.
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