Charges filed over terrorism 'revenge' attacks

Charges have been filed against a man accused of trying to set fire to a Seattle mosque.

It one of a string of reported hate crimes in Washington state since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Prosecutors filed charges of first-degree assault and second-degree attempted arson against Patrick Cunningham, 53. If convicted of both, he could face life in prison.

Two worshippers allegedly spotted a man carrying a petrol can near a vehicle soaked with fuel at the Idriss Mosque parking lot on September 13.

He allegedly threatened to shoot the two, pulling the trigger of a small handgun several times. The gun failed to discharge until the final shot hit the ground in front of the men, according to charging papers.

Another man was charged on Tuesday in an attack on a Sikh taxicab driver in the south Seattle suburb of Seatac.

Police say cab driver Kulwinder Singh - who like many Sikhs has a beard and wears a turban - stopped to pick up Raymond Isais Jr, 31, of San Diego, and a friend near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last Thursday.

The two accused Singh of being a terrorist, called him names, grabbed him by the neck, and tried to choke him in the cab, prosecutors say. When Singh got out, Isais allegedly punched him in the face, knocked off his turban, grabbed his beard, pulled out a handful of hair and called him a "butcher terrorist".

Prosecutors filed a malicious harassment charge Tuesday against Isais Jr. If convicted of the felony, he faces at least three months in jail.

Another man was charged late last week with malicious harassment in what police said was a threat at an Islamic centre in West Seattle.