New York:
In America's latest terror plot, authorities have taken into custody two persons who were planning to attack US troops abroad and were enamored with the idea of waging violent jihad perhaps even within the United States.
The two men Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, of Elmwood Park were arrested at John F Kennedy airport in New York before they could board separate flights to Egypt from where they were heading to Somalia to join al Shabaab, the Islamist group, which has links to al Qaeda, justice officials said.
The two men from New Jersey were accused of plotting to commit "murder, kidnapping and maiming of American citizens at a place outside the US", according to a criminal complaint filed in a local court here.
The two men were caught in an undercover operation spanning more than three and a half years, during which they were kept under watch by federal agents.
The arrest of the two men comes on the heels of a chain of failed attacks on US soil, including a botched car bombing of the Times Square by a Pakistani born American Faisal Shahzad on May 3 and the failed Christmas Day bombing of an airliner over Detroit by a Nigerian.
Federal undercover agents secretly recorded the duo making statements to promote violent Jihad.
"A lot of people need to get killed... I have to get a assault rifle and just kill anyone that even looks at me the wrong way... I want to be world's (best) known terrorist,"
Almonte was recorded as saying to Alessa. On their attacks on US troops, Alessa was taped as saying "I just want the troops... to come back in body bags----in caskets".
The men before taking the plane to Somalia had already trained in hand to hand fighting tactics as well as simulated use of weapons, the Court was told.
The Court affidavit also said that the two had given undercover agents money to the tune of USD 8000 that they could access from overseas.
The criminal complaint against the two defendants provides details about their activities from November 2009.
They were being watched since 2006 when a member of the public warned the FBI that the duo was allegedly obsessed with watching terrorist videos on the internet and calling American soldiers their enemies
They have been charged with conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism and will appear in a Newark District Court today. If convicted, they could be in prison for life.
The criminal complaint claims that the two American citizens prepared for their mission by working out in the gym, doing test runs at paintball fields, getting thousands of dollars, buying cargo pants, listening to videos especially the ones by radical American-Yemeni cleric Anwar Al Awalaki, and reading documents authored by Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
"We'll start doing killing here, if I can't do it over there," Almonte allegedly said in November 2009.
On Saturday night and Sunday morning, the FBI and NYPD raided the houses of the two suspects in North Bergen and Elmwood Park.
The arrests on Saturday were culmination of Operation Arabian Knight, which involved a New York cop infiltrating the inner circle of the suspects.
The two men Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, of Elmwood Park were arrested at John F Kennedy airport in New York before they could board separate flights to Egypt from where they were heading to Somalia to join al Shabaab, the Islamist group, which has links to al Qaeda, justice officials said.
The two men from New Jersey were accused of plotting to commit "murder, kidnapping and maiming of American citizens at a place outside the US", according to a criminal complaint filed in a local court here.
The two men were caught in an undercover operation spanning more than three and a half years, during which they were kept under watch by federal agents.
The arrest of the two men comes on the heels of a chain of failed attacks on US soil, including a botched car bombing of the Times Square by a Pakistani born American Faisal Shahzad on May 3 and the failed Christmas Day bombing of an airliner over Detroit by a Nigerian.
Federal undercover agents secretly recorded the duo making statements to promote violent Jihad.
"A lot of people need to get killed... I have to get a assault rifle and just kill anyone that even looks at me the wrong way... I want to be world's (best) known terrorist,"
Almonte was recorded as saying to Alessa. On their attacks on US troops, Alessa was taped as saying "I just want the troops... to come back in body bags----in caskets".
The men before taking the plane to Somalia had already trained in hand to hand fighting tactics as well as simulated use of weapons, the Court was told.
The Court affidavit also said that the two had given undercover agents money to the tune of USD 8000 that they could access from overseas.
The criminal complaint against the two defendants provides details about their activities from November 2009.
They were being watched since 2006 when a member of the public warned the FBI that the duo was allegedly obsessed with watching terrorist videos on the internet and calling American soldiers their enemies
They have been charged with conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism and will appear in a Newark District Court today. If convicted, they could be in prison for life.
The criminal complaint claims that the two American citizens prepared for their mission by working out in the gym, doing test runs at paintball fields, getting thousands of dollars, buying cargo pants, listening to videos especially the ones by radical American-Yemeni cleric Anwar Al Awalaki, and reading documents authored by Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
"We'll start doing killing here, if I can't do it over there," Almonte allegedly said in November 2009.
On Saturday night and Sunday morning, the FBI and NYPD raided the houses of the two suspects in North Bergen and Elmwood Park.
The arrests on Saturday were culmination of Operation Arabian Knight, which involved a New York cop infiltrating the inner circle of the suspects.
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