Muslim Radical Slaying Victim Has Ties To Atlanta

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DETROIT -- Federal authorities in Detroit said the leader of a radical U.S. Sunni Islam group, whom Channel 2 has confirmed had ties to Atlanta, was killed in a shootout with federal agents.

Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53, died following a targeted raid Wednesday in the Detroit area. Authorities said they still are searching for three men charged with criminal activities as part of the radical group, and one is considered armed and dangerous.

Andrew Arena, the head of the FBI office in Detroit, said Thursday that the 11 men charged follow "a very hybrid radical ideology" that mainstream Muslims "would not recognize."

Still at large Thursday are 30-year-old Yassir Ali Khan of Warren and Ontario; 30-year-old Mujahid Carswell of Detroit and Ontario; and 33-year-old Mohammad Philistine of Ontario. Authorities said Carswell is armed and dangerous.

Channel 2 Action News investigative reporter Mark Winne said Abdullah had many friends and associates in Atlanta. Winne said Abdullah attended the opening ceremonies for an Islamic sports competition in 2007 in Atlanta's West End area. Prominent Islamic leaders from around the country were also there.

A federal document alleges that the radical fundamentalist Sunni group's primary mission is "to establish a separate, sovereign Islamic State within the borders of the United States, governed by Shariah law. The Islamic State is to be ruled over by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rapp Brown, who is currently serving a life sentence for shooting two police officers in Georgia."

A statement posted on the Muslim Alliance in North America's Web site states that the "Reference to the Islamic State as a 'nationwide radical fundamentalist Sunni group consisting primarily of African-Americans' is an offensive mischaracterization."

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