The authorities in US foiled multiple strikes in New York in 2016, including the iconic Times Square and city’s subway systems.
Washington : US authorities foiled multiple terrorist attacks in New York in 2016, including at the iconic Times Square and the city’s subway system, plotted by three Islamic State sympathisers with one of them living in Pakistan, US prosecutors said on Saturday.
Three people have been charged with involvement in the planned attacks, which were to be carried out in the name of the Islamic State group during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in 2016, they said.
While Talha Haroon, 19, (a US citizen based in Pakistan), Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 19, (a Canadian citizen), and Russell Salic, 37, a Philippines national – were arrested last year, the charges against them were recently ordered to be unsealed by a federal court in New York, reports PTI.
According to the Department of Justice, El Bahnasawy purchased bomb-making materials for use in the attacks. Haroon allegedly planned to carry out the attacks with El Bahnasawy. He is pending extradition to the US. Salic allegedly provided financing for the planned attacks. He too is pending US extradition. Federal prosecutors said the plans included detonating bombs in Times Square and the New York City subway system and shooting civilians at specific concert venues. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the New York Police Department (NYPD) successfully thwarted this terrorist plot, the Department of Justice said. An undercover FBI agent, posing as an Islamic State (ISIS) supporter, convinced the accused that he was prepared to carry out the attacks with them. El Bahnasawy, who has been in custody since he was arrested by the FBI in May, 2016, pleaded guilty to terrorism offenses and is awaiting sentencing.
Haroon and Salic have been arrested in other countries by foreign authorities in connection with these charges and the Justice Department expects that they will be extradited to the US to face justice in an American court.
According to court papers, El Bahnasawy told the undercover FBI agent that he was in contact with an ISIS affiliate about obtaining official sanction of the planned attacks by the Khorasan Province – a branch of ISIS active in Pakistan, reports PTI.
Haroon, who was based in Pakistan and was introduced to the agent by El Bahnasawy, informed him that he was in contact with ISIS associates within the KhorasanProvince. El Bahnasawy told the agent that “these Americans need an attack,” that he aspired to “create the next 9/11,” and that he planned to “come to New York around May 22” from Canada.
Haroon stated that he intended to fly from Pakistan to New York City to carry out the attacks with El Bahnasawy, and hoped to “cause great destruction to the filthy ‘kuffars’ (infidels) by our hands”.El Bahnasawy and Haroon identified multiple locations and events in and around New York City as targets of the planned attacks, including the New York City subway system, Times Square, and some concert venues.
