Five indicted in plot to kill soldiers at Fort Dix

Five men arrested last month for allegedly plotting an armed assault on Fort Dix in Burlington County were indicted last week, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Christopher J. Christie announced.

The five defendants are charged with conspiracy and other charges related to their plans to kill as many soldiers at the Army base as possible.

A sixth man was indicted for aiding and abetting the illegal possession of firearms by three members of the group.

The charges and details in the indictment mostly mirror those brought in the original criminal complaint that was unsealed on May 8, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. One new count against two of the defendants charges them with unlawful possession of machine guns - the AK-47s and M-16s they purchased and took possession of just before they were arrested by special agents of the FBI.

The six defendants were arraigned on the charges on June 14. They remain in the custody of federal authorities.

"We intend to continue a vigorous prosecution of these defendants," Christie said. "Anyone who would plan such an attack should expect no less."

The six defendants and the charges against them are as follows:

+ Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services (maximum statutory penalty of any term of years up to life in federal prison).

+ Dritan Duka, 28, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services; unlawful possession of machine guns (maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison), two counts of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms (maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison).

+ Shain Duka, 26, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services; unlawful possession of machine guns, two counts of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.

+ Eljvir Duka, 23, of Cherry Hill: conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services, one count of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.

+ Serdar Tatar, 23, of Philadelphia: conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services.

+ Agron Abdullahu, 24, of Buena Vista Township, Atlantic County: aiding and abetting the Duka brothers' illegal possession of weapons (maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison).

The charge of unlawful possession of machine guns against Dritan Duka and Shain Duka stems from their purchase of three fully automatic AK-47s and four fully automatic M-16s at a residence in Cherry Hill.

After the purchase from a cooperating witness, the Duka brothers were arrested by special agents of the FBI.

The other defendants were arrested at other locations at about the same time.