Christopher Paul, 43, of Columbus, Ohio, is accused of plotting to bomb European tourist resorts and overseas U.S. military facilities and pled guilty to a single terrorism charge as part of a deal that could result in a 20-year prison sentence, according to federal court documents. Graphic source: AP Photo/Franklin County Sheriff's Office
Paul joined al-Qaida in the early 1990s and taught fellow Muslims to bomb U.S. and European targets. Paul is a U.S. citizen born and raised in Ohio. He was indicted in April 2007 and had been set to go to trial early next year. In 1999 Paul traveled to German to train members of an alleged terrorist cell knowing the group planned to make bombs and car bombs to use against Americans vacationing at overseas tourist resorts. The German group also planned to use bombs against Americans in the United States and against overseas U.S. facilities. The Justice Department had also accused Paul and two other men of discussing terrorist attacks during an August 2002 meeting at a coffee shop in suburban Columbus. The other two pled guilty and were convicted: Nuradin Abdi in connection with an alleged plot to blow up an Ohio shopping mall, and Iyman Faris in connection with a plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge.
Paul converted to Islam in the late 1980s and joined al-Qaida after traveling to Afghanistan in the early 1990s. He fought in Afghanistan against the pro-Soviet Marxist government. He was a recruiter and taught martial arts at a local mosque.
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