May 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. authorities charged six men, including five identified as ``radical Islamists,'' in a plot to kill American soldiers at the Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey.

U.S. agents who infiltrated the group arrested the men last night and charged five of them with conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers. They face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. A sixth was charged with aiding and abetting illegal possession of firearms. He faces 10 years in prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a 15-month undercover probe, relying on two informants who secretly taped meetings in which the alleged plot took shape, according to a complaint filed by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie. An FBI affidavit describes months of planning during which the alleged conspirators scouted military bases, discussed weapons, trained for their mission, and talked of killing U.S. soldiers.

In a meeting recorded by one of the informants, suspect Mohamed Shnewer said ``they could utilize six or seven jihadists to attack and kill at least one hundred soldiers by using rocket-propelled grenades or other weapons,'' the complaint said. Shnewer said he and the others ``were not afraid to die.''

The six men made an initial appearance in federal court in Camden, New Jersey, today before a U.S. magistrate judge who ordered them held pending a bail hearing on May 11.

``We believe they are their own cell,'' Christie said in a news conference in Camden. ``They have no connection to international terrorist organizations. But we believe they are inspired by international terrorist organizations. This is a new kind of terrorism where a small cell of people can bring enormous destruction against American citizens.''

`Ready for Martyrdom'

Christie said the six defendants ``were ready for martyrdom. They spoke about martyrdom in the tapes. When you're dealing with people who were prepared to sacrifice their own lives, you're talking about very dangerous people.''

He said the investigation is continuing, ``but we believe that the six people we have in custody represent the soul and the core of this plot, and the danger has been extinguished.''

The FBI learned of the plot after an individual went to a retail store seeking to make a copy of a DVD depicting 10 young men shooting assault weapons while shouting ``God is Great'' in Arabic, the complaint said.

A video store clerk called the police in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, who in turn notified the FBI, Christie said. The prosecutor said he would not reveal the identity of the clerk, who could be a witness at a trial.

``This is someone, who when his identity does become public, deserves a great deal of credit for stepping forward and doing the right thing,'' Christie said.

Three Brothers

The video depicted the six men charged in the case, including three brothers from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, who are living illegally in the U.S., the complaint said.

They are Dritan Duka, 28; Shain Duka, 26; and Eljvir Duka, 23. Mohamad Shnewer, 22, a Cherry Hill resident originally from Jordan, and Serdar Tatar, 23, a Philadelphia resident from Turkey, also were charged. Agron Abdullahu, 24, of Buena Vista Township, was charged with aiding and abetting.

The Dukas and Abdullahu are ethnic Albanians from the former Yugoslavia, U.S. officials said. The Duka brothers operated roofing businesses based in Cherry Hill, Shnewer was a taxi driver in Philadelphia, Tatar worked at a convenience store in Philadelphia, and Abdullahu worked at a supermarket, according to authorities.

Two of the men were arrested in Cherry Hill as they met an FBI informant to buy three AK-47 automatic machine guns and four semi-automatic M-16 rifles, authorities said.

Delivered Pizza

In a 26-page affidavit accompanying the complaint, FBI agent John J. Ryan detailed how the suspects weighed attacks on several military bases before settling on Fort Dix. The base, in central New Jersey, is about 20 miles from the state capital in Trenton. Tatar once delivered pizzas at the base, and his family owns a pizzeria nearby, the complaint said.

One of the FBI informants, identified in the complaint as CW-1, developed a relationship with Shnewer, federal authorities said. Shnewer gave the informant a DVD with ``various jihadist images,'' according to the complaint.

Shnewer told the informant to review two other video files on his laptop computer, including ``what appears to be the last will and testament of at least two of the hijackers'' involved in the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the complaint said.

Another video showed ``images of Osama bin Laden and other Islamic extremists making various speeches in which the speakers call the viewer to join the jihadist movement,'' Ryan wrote.

`Armed Attacks'

The alleged conspirators believed that Abdullahu was a sniper in Kosovo and that CW-1 had experience in the Egyptian military, the complaint said.

Shnewer showed another informant, dubbed CW-2 in the complaint, ``a number of videos'' on his laptop that ``depicted armed attacks on and the killing of United States military personnel,'' Ryan wrote.

At meetings with CW-1 in early August, Shnewer said that he, Tatar and the three Dukas were part of a group planning to attack a U.S. military base, specifically Fort Dix, and a nearby naval base, the complaint said.

``Shnewer also said that he and others in the group had saved money to pay for the weapons and that they were not afraid to die,'' the complaint said.

A few days later, CW-2 asked Shnewer ``what made him think of Fort Dix as a target,'' the complaint said. Shnewer replied: ``My intent is to hit a heavy concentration of soldiers.''

Bases Scouted

As Schnewer and CW-1 drove into Fort Dix, according to an account in the complaint, Shnewer said: ``This is exactly what we are looking for. You hit 4, 5, or 6 humvees and light the whole place [up] and retreat completely without any losses.''

In mid-August 2006, Shnewer and CW-1 scouted the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey and the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Ryan wrote in his affidavit.

The informants recorded many conversations with the Dukas as they discussed plans to buy rocket-powered grenades and machine guns, the complaint said. Tatar told CW-1 that he would get a map of Fort Dix from his father's pizzeria.

The Duka brothers rented a house in Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania, and traveled there in early February with Abdullahu to practice firing the weapons, the complaint said.

CW-2 met with Dritan and Shain Duka on March 10, when the informant asked about Tatar, the complaint said.

`Kill American Soldiers'

``Shain Duka explained that Tatar wanted to join the U.S. Army so that he could kill U.S. soldiers from the `inside,''' the complaint said. ``When CW-2 asked about Tatar again, Dritan Duka remarked, `He had only one mind, how to kill American soldiers.'''

The Dukas later said that, ``rather than waging jihad overseas, they could do so in the United States,'' the complaint said.

The case is USA v. Dritan Duka, 07-m-2046, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Camden).

To contact the reporters on this story: David Voreacos in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net; Chris Dolmetsch in New York at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 8, 2007 16:53 EDT