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Soldier convicted of trying to aid al-Qaida

Spc. Ryan G. Anderson, accused of trying to give al-Qaida information about U.S. troops, was found guilty Thursday on all five counts of trying to help the terrorist network.
ANDERSON
Spc. Ryan G. Anderson, seen in an undated high school yearbook photo, was found guilty Thursday of trying to help the al-Qaida terrorist network. AP file
/ Source: The Associated Press

A soldier accused of trying to give al-Qaida information about U.S. troops, including methods for killing soldiers, was found guilty Thursday on all five counts of trying to help the terrorist network.

The verdict in Spc. Ryan G. Anderson’s court-martial, which began Monday, was announced late Thursday afternoon.

Anderson, a tank crewman whose 81st Armor Brigade unit is now in Iraq, was accused of trying to give terrorists information about U.S. soldiers’ strength and tactics. The terrorists he thought he was meeting with were actually undercover federal agents, prosecutors said.

A military spokesman has said the charges amount to attempted treason.

Conviction required agreement by two-thirds of the jury of nine commissioned officers — all from Fort Lewis. The jury vote was not immediately announced.

Anderson, a 27-year-old Muslim convert, could face a maximum penalty of life in prison. The court took a brief recess after the verdict was announced, then planned to reconvene to consider his sentence.