RALEIGH – New details are emerging after the arrest of what federal officials say was a terror cell in Johnston County.

Federal prosecutors now say an eighth suspect who went to Pakistan last year is still being sought. The man's name has been withheld, but investigators say he went to Pakistan in October 2008 to "engage in violent jihad."

Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, Ziyad Yaghi, 21, and four others, including Boyd's sons, were all taken into custody by federal investigators Monady. They are all charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.

The justice department says Boyd received military-style training in terrorist training camps and worked to recruit others as the leader of the group. The 39-year-old was married and was a drywall contractor.

Investigators say some of the men practiced military tactics and the use of weapons on private property in Caswell County.

Each of the suspects faces life in prison if convicted.

The Muslim American Society for Freedom held a news conference Tuesday to address the arrests. They said they condemn in the strongest terms possible what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians.

They also read a statement from Boyd's family.

"Charges have not been substantiated," Khalilah Sabra, with the Muslim American Society for Freedom, said. "We are an ordinary family. We have the right to justice and we believe justice will prevail."

The family went on to say Boyd's time in Afghanistan was spent fighting the Russians with the backing of the U.S. government.