Seven men arrested during an FBI raid have been charged with conspiring with al-Qaeda to "levy war against the United States" by planning to blow up the tallest building in America, Chicago’s Sears Tower.

The men are also alleged to have been planning to blow up government buildings across five American cities, in a so called "full ground war" which they planned would "be just as good or greater than 9/11."

The suspects were taken into custody yesterday after a police and security operation at a Miami warehouse. Five are US citizens, one is a legal permanent resident, and one a Haitian national in the country illegally. All are believed to be Muslim and they are aged between 22 - 32.

The indictment names Narseal Batiste as the ringleader of the group that was planning the mission. He is alleged to have asked an undercover agent he thought was from al-Qaeda to help build an "Islamic Army to wage Jihad" in November 2005.

It is alleged that he told the agent he and his five "soldiers" wanted al-Qaeda training with the aim, to "kill all the devils we can".

The following month, it is alleged, Batiste met with a person purporting to be from al-Qaeda, and asked for boots, uniforms, guns, radios and vehicles for the plan.

His co-defendants were identified as Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Lyglenson Lemorin and Rotschild Augustine.

They are due to appear in the US District Court in Miami today.

The men are alleged to have met on March 16 to discuss the bomb plot, according to the indictment. Each swore an oath of allegiance and provided the supposed al-Qaeda representative with photographs of the FBI building in North Miami and details of their plans.

On May 24, Batiste told the representative he was experiencing delays "because of various problems within his organisation" but wanted to continue with the mission.

However, they were never able to obtain the explosives or access needed to complete their plan.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the men were part of a group of "homegrown terrorists who sought to work with al-Qaeda but end up consorting instead with an informant".

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