Not too many details, but Chairman of Holy Land Foundation has been arrested (assets were frozen after 9/11, suspected of funneling money to Islamic terrorists); also raid in Richardson, TX, computer firm,vice- president of co. has ties to Hamas. Two entities are connected, believe they said Holy Land guy is owner of computer co. Believe they also said 7 people total are wanted.

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2002

Answers

Fox

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

DALLAS — Federal agents in the Dallas area arrested four people Wednesday morning on suspicion of funneling funds to known terrorist organizations.

Two others remain at large, and a seventh suspect was already in custody.

One of the men arrested is Ghassan Elashi, chairman of the Dallas-based Holy Land Foundation, a source told Fox News. The Islamic charity's assets were frozen by the government last year in its crackdown on terror financing.

Elashi is said to have ties to the militant Palestinian group Hamas, and the government's probe of that Islamic charity continues.

The source said the arrest does not necessarily indicate that the Holy Land Foundation was involved in the alleged funnelling of funds, because officials believe Elashi may have been running some other charities or companies.

Elashi is reported to be the vice president of a computer technology firm in Richardson, Texas, whose owner -- Mousa Abu Marzouk -- is a senior leader of Hamas, law enforcement sources said.

Indications from several sources are that Marzouk will be charged with trying to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in transactions behind his company's operations.

However, Marzouk appears to be one of the two suspects at large at this moment, and he may not be in the country.

Attorney General John Ashcroft was expected to reveal the charges against the seven at a news conference in the afternoon.

The indictments are still under seal at the Federal Courthouse in Dallas.

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2002

Link

Several Arrested In Texas On Terror Charges Officials Accuse Suspects Of Fundraising For Terrorists

POSTED: 10:33 a.m. EST December 18, 2002 UPDATED: 10:52 a.m. EST December 18, 2002

DALLAS -- The FBI says it has arrested a number of people with ties to a Richardson, Texas, computer company, and accuses them of fund raising for terrorists.

The arrests are the result of a multiyear FBI investigation into Richardson computer company Infocom, and a Palestinian charity across the street, Holy Land Foundation.

FBI agents arrested Ghassan Elashi and three of his brothers Wednesday, KXAS-TV in Dallas reported.

A fifth brother is already in jail on unrelated charges, but sources tell KXAS-TV that he will also be named in Wednesday's indictment.

The charges, to be announced Wednesday afternoon by Attorney General John Ashcroft in Washington, D.C., accuse the brothers of funneling money to the terrorist group Hamas, blamed in a wave of bombings in Israel, KXAS-TV reported.

Officials say the Elashi brothers had significant ties to both Infocom and Holy Land Foundation.

Infocom was first raided a week before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks against the United States.

Holy Land Foundation was shut down earlier this year.

In the past, leaders of both groups have strongly denied any connection to terrorism, and some Muslim groups have come out against the federal investigation, KXAS-TV reported.

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2002