The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a teenage American national of Somali origin with suspected links to Pakistan-based terror outfits for allegedly trying to detonate a car bomb at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon.
The arrest of Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, on Friday evening was the culmination of a long-term undercover operation during which he had been monitored closely for months as his alleged bomb plot developed.
Mohamud was taken into custody by the FBI after he allegedly attempted to remotely detonate what he believed to be an explosives-laden van that was parked near the tree lighting ceremony in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square.
The device was in fact inert; and the public was never in danger from it, the Justice Department said in a statement on Saturday. Mohamud is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Portland on Monday.
He faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison and a $ 250,000 fine if convicted of the charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint Mohamud, in August 2009, was in e-mail contact with an unindicted associate overseas who is believed to be involved in terrorist activities.
In December 2009, while UA1 was located in the northwest Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan, Mohamud and UA1 discussed the possibility of Mohamud traveling to Pakistan to engage in 'violent jihad'.
UAI allegedly referred Mohamud to a second unindicted associate (UA2) overseas and provided him with a name and e-mail address to facilitate the process.
"The complaint alleges that Mohamud attempted to detonate what he believed to be a vehicle bomb at a crowded holiday event in downtown Portland, but a coordinated undercover law enforcement action was able to thwart his efforts and ensure no one was harmed," said David Kris, assistant Attorney General for National Security.
"While the public was never in danger from the device, this case serves as yet another reminder of the need for continued vigilance both at home and abroad," he said.
In the months that followed, Mohamud allegedly made several unsuccessful attempts to contact UA2. Ultimately, an FBI undercover operative contacted Mohamud via e-mail in June 2010 under the guise of being an associate of UA1.
Mohamud and the FBI undercover operative then agreed to meet in Portland in July 2010. At this meeting, Mohamud allegedly told the FBI undercover operative that he had written articles that were published in 'Jihad Recollections', an online magazine that advocated 'violent jihad'.
Mohamud also indicated that he wanted to become "operational." Asked what he meant by "operational," Mohamud stated that he wanted to put an "explosion" together, but needed help.
At a second meeting in August 2010, Mohamud allegedly told undercover FBI operatives he had been thinking of committing 'violent jihad' since the age of 15.
According to the affidavit, Mohamud then told the undercover FBI operatives that he had identified a potential target for a bomb: the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square on November 26.
The undercover FBI operatives cautioned Mohamud several times about the seriousness of this plan, noting there would be many people at the event, including many children, and emphasised that Mohamud could abandon his attack plans at any time with no shame, it said.
"You know there's gonna be a lot of children there," an undercover FBI operative told Mohamud. According to the affidavit, Mohamud responded that he was looking for a "huge mass that will ... be attacked in their own element with their families celebrating the holidays."
Further discussing the attack, Mohamud allegedly stated, "...it's in Oregon; and Oregon like you know, nobody ever thinks about it." The affidavit alleges that in subsequent months, Mohamud continued to express his interest in carrying out the attack and worked on logistics.
He allegedly identified a location to place the bomb and mailed bomb components to the undercover FBI operatives, who he believed were assembling the device.
He also mailed them passport photos, as part of a plan to help him sneak out of the country after the attack. In addition, Mohamud provided the undercover FBI operatives with a thumb drive that contained detailed directions to the bomb location and operational instructions for the attack.
According to the affidavit, on November 4, Mohamud and the undercover FBI operatives travelled to a remote location in Lincoln County, Oregon, where they detonated a bomb concealed in a backpack as a trial run for the upcoming attack.
Afterwards, on the drive back to Corvallis, undercover FBI operatives questioned Mohamud as to whether he was capable of looking at the bodies of those who would be killed in the upcoming attack in Portland.
According to the affidavit, Mohamud responded, "I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or injured."
Upon returning to Corvallis that same day, the affidavit alleges that Mohamud recorded a video of himself with the undercover FBI operatives in which he read a written statement that offered a rationale for his bomb attack. PTI
