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 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.
"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,"
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 criminal complaint against the two defendants provides details about their activities from November 2009.
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.
"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 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.
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"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,"
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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.
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The criminal complaint against the two defendants provides details about their activities from November 2009.
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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.
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"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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