Sabirhan Hasanoff, accused of providing money and computer assistance to al-Qaeda, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court.

Hasanoff pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood.

A second man in the case, Wesam El-Hanafi, has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors alleged that in February 2008, El-Hanafi, a U.S. citizen born in Brooklyn, New York, swore an oath of allegiance to al-Qaeda in Yemen, where he met the senior leaders of the terrorist group. He is charged with buying computer encryption software and seven Casio digital watches for use by al-Qaeda.

Back in the U.S., prosecutors claim, El-Hanafi recruited Hasanoff, who holds joint U.S. and Australian citizenship, into a “mini-terror cell.”

The case is U.S. v. El-Hanafi, 10-cr-00162, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in New York at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.