Teenager arrested over Dallas bomb plot
Teenager arrested over Dallas bomb plot
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By James Christie. |  |
Friday, 25, Sep 2009 09:43
By Richard James.
A teenager from Jordan has been arrested for plotting to bomb an office tower in Dallas, Texas.
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi was arrested by undercover FBI agents after being accused of planning to commit "violent jihad".
US authorities claim the 19-year-old tried to set off an improvised explosive device attached to a vehicle at the base of the six-story Fountain Plaza tower.
He was arrested on Thursday by counterterrorism officials, who later confirmed a similar, but apparently unrelated, terror arrest took place in Springfield, Illinois the day before.
Reports suggest Smadi told an undercover FBI agent he planned to target the Dallas office block on September 11th but decided to wait until nine days later to coincide with the end of Ramadan.
"The identification and apprehension of this defendant, who was acting alone, is a sobering reminder that there are people among us who want to do us grave harm," said James Jacks, the top federal prosecutor in Dallas.
The case in Springfield, involving an alleged attempt to target the city's federal building, is unrelated to the Dallas arrest, according to US justice department officials.