No bail for men in massacre plot against soldiers

SIX Muslim men suspected of plotting to massacre hundreds of US soldiers at Fort Dix were ordered held without bail last night.

Prosecutors argued that the men, all born outside the US, pose a flight risk. They are being held at a federal detention centre in Philadelphia.

The men were arrested on Monday night during what the FBI said was an attempt to buy AK-47 machine guns, M-16s and other weapons. They targeted Fort Dix, a post east of Philadelphia that is used primarily to train reservists, partly because one of them had delivered pizzas there and was familiar with the base, according to court filings. Their objective was to kill “as many American soldiers as possible”, the documents said.

The men have lived in and around Philadelphia for years, worshipped at moderate mosques and worked blue-collar jobs installing roofs, driving a cab, delivering pizzas and baking bread.

Authorities said they first learned about the men in 2006 after a tip from a clerk at an electronics store. The clerk called police because a home video the men wanted transferred to a DVD looked like it might have terrorist links, Attorney Christopher J Christie said.