by KYW's Ian Bush
Two men from Lebanon are in federal custody and authorities are still looking for three others after an international terrorism investigation stretching from the Middle East to Philadelphia.
Officials say the alleged mastermind tried to buy anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons and have them shipped overseas.
When Dani Nemr Tarraf was in Philadelphia in June, the FBI says he met with an undercover agent, with hopes of purchasing 10,000 machine guns and missiles that could "take down an F-16."
US Attorney Michael Levy:
"You don't use those for playing weekend games. These are clearly weapons of war he was procuring for some organization or some government that I don't think, necessarily, would have been friendly toward us."
An affidavit says Tarraf put a down payment on the weapons, and asked to have them sent to Syria, so "the Resistance" could use them there, or in Iran.
Tarraf was arrested in Philadelphia and charged with weapons conspiracy over the weekend when he came back to inspect the goods.
Authorities won't say why the city played a central role in the investigation.
In all, five men face charges in a sting that goes back more than two years. Officials say they started buying stolen cell phones and laptops -- even PlayStations, but then Tarraf escalated it to include weapons.
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