HOUSTON (AP) _ A defense attorney has told jurors his client is a caring person who only desires to help others and not commit “battlefield Jihad.”
But prosecutors say Pakistani student Adnan Babar Mirza conspired to aid the Taliban and underwent training in order to fight U.S. troops. A prosecutor told jurors in Houston federal court Monday that Mirza wanted to go overseas and fight U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
Jurors heard opening statements in the trial of Mirza. He’s one of four men arrested in 2006 for participating in paramilitary training exercises around the Houston area that prosecutors say were disguised as camping trips. An FBI agent in a counterterrorism unit was the first witness for prosecutors.
If convicted, Mirza faces up to 10 years in prison.