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Graduate 'plotted airplane attacks on US'
Source: Agencies |
September 30, 2011, Friday
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A PHYSICS graduate has been charged with plotting to attack the Pentagon and the US Capitol using remote-controlled airplanes filled with explosives.
Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, was arrested after undercover federal agents delivered materials he is alleged to have requested, including grenades, machine guns and 11 kilograms of C-4 explosive.
Federal officials said the public was never in danger from the explosives, which it said were always under control and closely monitored.
The arrest was the latest of several terrorism cases to spring from federal sting operations. In other cases, apparent would-be terrorists have become involved in fictional plots against targets such as Dallas skyscrapers or a Chicago nightclub. In this case, though, authorities say Ferdaus originated the plan.
Federal agents said Ferdaus, of Massachusetts, began planning "jihad" against the US early last year after becoming convinced by jihadi websites and videos that it was evil. He contacted a federal informant and began meeting to discuss his plot with undercover federal agents he believed were members of al-Qaida.
A US citizen who graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in physics, Ferdaus said he wanted to deal a psychological blow to the "enemies of Allah" by attacking the Pentagon - the "head and heart of the snake."
"Allah has given us the privilege," he allegedly told the informant. "He punishes them by our hand."
Ferdaus made a brief initial appearance in court on Wednesday charged with attempting to destroy federal buildings and providing support to a foreign terrorist organization, al-Qaida.
Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, was arrested after undercover federal agents delivered materials he is alleged to have requested, including grenades, machine guns and 11 kilograms of C-4 explosive.
Federal officials said the public was never in danger from the explosives, which it said were always under control and closely monitored.
The arrest was the latest of several terrorism cases to spring from federal sting operations. In other cases, apparent would-be terrorists have become involved in fictional plots against targets such as Dallas skyscrapers or a Chicago nightclub. In this case, though, authorities say Ferdaus originated the plan.
Federal agents said Ferdaus, of Massachusetts, began planning "jihad" against the US early last year after becoming convinced by jihadi websites and videos that it was evil. He contacted a federal informant and began meeting to discuss his plot with undercover federal agents he believed were members of al-Qaida.
A US citizen who graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in physics, Ferdaus said he wanted to deal a psychological blow to the "enemies of Allah" by attacking the Pentagon - the "head and heart of the snake."
"Allah has given us the privilege," he allegedly told the informant. "He punishes them by our hand."
Ferdaus made a brief initial appearance in court on Wednesday charged with attempting to destroy federal buildings and providing support to a foreign terrorist organization, al-Qaida.
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