US federal prosecutors have charged a Massachusetts man with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, alleging that he and co-conspirators travelled to the Middle East seeking training, discussed attacking a shopping centre and distributed videos promoting holy war.
Tarek Mehanna (27), from Sudbury, Massachusetts, was arrested at his home yesterday morning, officials said.
“Mehanna and the co-conspirators had multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in a shopping mall, and that the conversations went so far as to discuss the logistics of a mall attack, including coordination, weapons needed and the possibility of attacking emergency responders,” the US justice department said.
Mr Mehanna had been previously indicted in January 2009 for making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other officials in connection with a terrorism investigation, the Justice Department said in a news release.
Prosecutors allege that from 2001 to 2008 Mr Mehanna conspired with a man named Ahmad Abousamra and others in an attempt to kill, kidnap or injure people in the United States.
The charges accuse him and co-conspirators of talking about their desire to participate in Islamist holy war and to die on the battlefield. The case was based partly on information from two unnamed people described as co-operating witnesses.
Both Mr Mehanna and Mr Abousamra are believed to be US citizens, and Mr Abousamra fled the country for Syria in 2006 after federal officials attempted to question him, acting US attorney Michael Loucks told a news conference in Boston.
Mr Mehanna was arrested about a year ago before boarding a plane at Logan International Airport in Boston, and he was later released on bail.
Mr Loucks said Mr Mehanna’s arrest yesterday was unrelated to President Barack Obama’s planned visit to Boston this weekend.
The case comes less than a month after an Afghan-born man, Najibullah Zazi, was accused of plotting a bomb attack against the United States.
Authorities say Mr Zazi took a bomb-making course at an al- Qaeda training camp in Pakistan, had bomb-making notes on his laptop computer and acquired bomb-making materials similar to those used in the 2005 London attacks.
Attorney general Eric Holder has called that plot one of the most serious security threats to the United States since the 9/11 attacks. – (Reuters)