PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - An Oregon man was arrested on Tuesday on charges he gave advice and financial assistance to one of three Islamist militants who carried out a 2009 suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistan, that killed 30 people and injured 300 others, U.S. officials said.
Reaz Qadir Khan, 48, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was indicted on a single count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Khan, whose country of origin was not disclosed, was arrested without incident in Portland, prosecutors said. His lawyer said the defendant later pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance.
According to the indictment, Khan used email and intermediaries to consult with and provide financial support to a Maldivian national named Ali Jaleel and his family, making it possible for Jaleel to attend a training camp in preparation for the bomb attack.
The indictment says the conspiracy began in December 2005 and continued on through the attack on Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in Lahore on May 29, 2009, and into the following month.
Approximately 30 people were killed and 300 other injured in the bombing, federal prosecutors said.
In addition to helping Jaleel with various travel arrangements and giving him instructions on how to avoid detection, Khan is accused of sending money to Jaleel's family during his absence from home and after he died in the bombing.
Jaleel and two others carried out the attack, according a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In a video released by an al Qaeda media outlet after the attack, Jaleel was shown making a statement taking responsibility for the blast and preparing for the bombing at a training camp in Pakistan, prosecutors said.
(Reporting by Teresa Carson; Editing by Steve GorMAN (MAN.XE) Cynthia Johnston and Bob Burgdorfer)
