20-Year-Old College Student Arrested For Allegedly Plotting A Terrorist Attack In New York City

SteveHolt10 years ago

Two weeks ago, we brought you a story about a Wichita State student who was killed while protecting his mosque from a suicide bomber. Today, we bring you a story from the other side of the spectrum. A New York City college student is under arrest after plotting an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack using a pressure cooker bomb.

Munther Omar Saleh, a 20-year-old student at Queens College, was arrested this weekend after authorities began tracking his position, concerned he was involved in a potential terrorist attack on the George Washington bridge. The GW bridge connects New Jersey to Manhattan and is one of the busiest bridges in the city.

From The Daily Mail:

Munther Omar Saleh, 20, was arrested early on Saturday morning after he and another man got out of their car and ran toward a surveillance vehicle that had been tracking their movements, according to documents filed in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday.

…

A federal agent said in court papers that Saleh, a resident of Flushing in the New York City borough of Queens, spent hours online researching how to build a pressure-cooker bomb and reading accounts of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

Investigators reportedly said Saleh recently enrolled at Queens college, which specializes in aeronautics. He was studying electrical circuitry.

In numerous online postings, Saleh expressed support for the Islamic State and at one point posted on Twitter – in an apparent reference to the militant group Al Qaeda – ‘I fear AQ could be getting too moderate,’ according to court papers.

He also praised various militant attacks, including the January massacre at the headquarters of the magazine Charlie Hebdo in France and murders carried out by Islamic State, authorities said.

The FBI claim that Saleh told an informant: ‘I’m in NY and trying to do an op’ – a militant reference that refers to carrying out a terror attack.

A police officer observed Saleh on successive days in March on foot at the George Washington Bridge – which connects New Jersey and New York – seemingly looking around, the court papers said.

His father told reporters the whole thing was a misunderstanding and his son had been set up by informants. He said the internet searches didn’t connect his son to any potential plots.

He remains in jail, although he has not been formally charged with a crime yet. Police continue to investigate..

[via Daily Mail]

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