US Imam 'allegedly' aided Al Qaeda, other extremist groups in Pak, Afghanistan

U.S. authorities are reportedly seeking to repeal the citizenship of an imam, who they accused of concealing past links to extremist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In a petition filed on July 20 in a federal court, the U.S. Department of Justice claimed that Mohamed Sheikh Abdirahman Kariye, an imam in Oregon, raised money, recruited fighters and provided training to insurgent groups battling Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, reported The Express Tribune.

Government lawyers also alleged that Kariye 'dealt directly' with Al Qaeda founders Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam 'for a time'.

Kariye is also accused of being the founding officer of Global Relief Foundation, which officials said provided assistance to terror groups, including Al Qaeda, and promoted radical jihad.

Federal authorities claimed that Kariye failed to reveal these details in his application for citizenship, which was granted in 1998.

In 2010, the imam was one of the 18 people, who sued the U.S. federal government for unfairly placing them on a no-fly list.