Washington ? Federal prosecutors charged more suspects with terrorism in 2009 than in any year since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, providing evidence of what experts call a rise in plots spurred by Internet recruitment, the spread of al-Qaida overseas and ever-shifting tactics of terror chiefs.

A review of major national security cases by The Associated Press found 54 defendants had federal terrorism-related charges filed or unsealed against them in the past 12 months.

The Justice Department would not confirm the figure or provide its own. But an agency spokesman said 2009 had more defendants charged with terrorism than any year since the 2001 attacks. The year that came closest was 2002, said the spokesman, Dean Boyd.

Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University, called it “an extraordinary year, across the board,” adding that the wide range of cases show al-Qaida “is in it for the long haul and we need to be as well.”