NEW YORK, NY May 22, 2007 —A medical doctor has been convicted in Federal Court in Manhattan of agreeing to treat injured al-Qaida fighters so they could return to Iraq to fight US troops. WNYC’s Fred Mogul has more.

Dr. Rafiq Sabir was convicted after a 3 week trial that featured testimony by him and an FBI agent who posed as an al-Qaida recruiter. The sting operation led to 4 arrests – with 3 other men pleading guilty to conspiracy charges. The 52-year-old Sabir is based in Florida, but he was born in Harlem and trained at Columbia University.

Two years ago this month, he was recorded by an undercover FBI agent in a Bronx apartment. Sabir pledged allegiance to Al-Qaida and offered to go to Saudi Arabia to provide medical care to Islamic militants. The charges against Sabir carry a potential maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul.