This story was printed from TODAYonline 
Wednesday • September 3, 2008
A US court on Tuesday announced the indictment of Pakistani-born, US-educated scientist Aafia Siddiqui, 36, for allegedly attacking US agents who went to interrogate her after she was arrested by local police in Afghanistan.
US officials have privately described her as a "treasure trove" of information on the Al-Qaeda terror network.
Siddiqui faces one count of attempting to kill US nationals abroad; one count of attempting to kill US officers and employees; one count of armed assault of US officers and employees; one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; and three counts of assault of US officers and employees.
"If convicted, Siddiqui faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each of the attempted murder and armed assault charges; life in prison on the firearm charge; and eight years in prison on each of the remaining assault charges," the statement read.
Siddiqui was arrested in the central Afghan town of Ghazni on July 17 by Afghan police who said they believed she had been planning a suicide attack.
According to a statement from the US Attorney for Southern District of New York, a team of US military and law enforcement officers attempted to interview Siddiqui the next day at the Afghan police compound in Ghazni.
"In a second-floor meeting room at the compound -- where Siddiqui was being held, unbeknownst to the United States interview team, unsecured, behind a curtain -- (she) obtained one of the (US) Army officer's M-4 rifle" and fired it at members of the US interrogators, the statement read.
Siddiqui, who "repeatedly stated her intent and desire to kill Americans," then assaulted an army interpreter and other team members trying to disarm her, according to the statement.
Her arrest was the first time in five years she had been seen publicly and her family and lawyers allege she had been held captive since disappearing in Pakistan in 2003 -- possibly in a secret US or allied prison.
The statement said that Siddiqui was carrying items including handwritten notes referring to a "mass casualty attack" and a list of several US locations, including the Plumb Island Animal Disease Center, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Siddiqui also had a computer thumb drive with correspondence referring to "cells," "attacks" by certain "cells," and "enemies," the statement read.
Siddiqui's lawyers earlier said the incident was invented as a pretext to bring her to US territory. She was on a 2004 US list of suspects linked to Al-Qaeda. — AFP