FBI Arrests 2 on Terrorism Charges

NEW YORK —  The FBI arrested a Florida doctor and a New York martial arts expert on federal terrorism charges, saying they conspired to treat and train terrorists, prosecutors announced Sunday.

Rafiq Abdus Sabir, a Boca Raton physician, and Tarik Shah, a self-described martial arts expert in New York, were charged in Manhattan federal court with conspiring to provide material support to Al Qaeda, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

New York police spokesman Paul Browne said Shah was arrested early Friday. Florida authorities said Sabir was arrested Saturday. Both are U.S. citizens.

Prosecutors said Sabir agreed to treat jihadists, or holy warriors, in Saudi Arabia. Shah allegedly agreed to train them in hand-to-hand combat.

The one-count complaint detailed a two-year sting operation in which the men allegedly took an oath pledging their allegiance to Al Qaeda. The government said the men engaged in recorded conversations with a confidential source and an FBI agent posing as an Al Qaeda operative.

Both men were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in federal court, Shah in New York and Sabir in Florida, according to a news release from U.S. Atty. David N. Kelley in Manhattan.

Sabir was being held at the Palm Beach County Jail. It was not immediately known where Shah was being held.

If convicted, each man would face a maximum sentence of 15 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

There was no phone listing for Sabir in Boca Raton, Fla. A phone number listed for Shah in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., rang unanswered Sunday evening.

As recently as May 20, during a meeting at a Bronx apartment, Sabir indicated he planned to treat wounded fighters at a Saudi military base, prosecutors said. Travel records showed he was to leave Thursday.