Tampa Grand Jury Indicts Goose Creek Suspects

Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohammed, the two University of South Florida students who were caught speeding near Goose Creek NWS with pipe bombs in their vehicle, were indicted on charges of carrying explosives across state lines and Mohamed faces terror-related charges.

Two Egyptian students at a university in the southern state of Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across state lines, and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons.

Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives.

He and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding in Goose Creek, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, where they have been held ever since.

Both men are Egyptian nationals, authorities said.

The two were stopped with pipe bombs in their car near a U.S. Navy base in South Carolina where alleged enemy combatants have been held. They were held on state charges while the FBI continued to investigate whether they were linked with terror.

Mohamed was charged with distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, which is a terrorism statute, a Justice Department official said. The crime faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

A grand jury had requested DNA evidence from Megahed yesterday.

The 3-page indictment is here.