By Reuters and DPA
A U.S. teen was arrested as a plot to bomb a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony was foiled in Oregon, news reports from the north-western U.S. state said.
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested moments before the ceremony took place Friday night in Portland, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Oregon said.
U.S. judicial officials said Mohamud drove a van to the square where the lighting took place, believing he was going to detonate a bomb, but the explosives were dummies provided by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.
Agents shadowed Mohamud, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, for months and met him several times as the plot developed officials said, adding he had told them that he had thought of waging violent jihad, or holy war, since the age of 15.
He went ahead with the plot despite being given a number of opportunities to drop the idea, the FBI said.
The arrest came a day after Americans celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday amid heightened security.
Mohamud is expected to make his initial appearance in a federal court in Portland on Monday. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
The US Attorney's Office said the public was never in danger.
haaretz.com
No comments:
Post a Comment