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FBI arrests Afghan man suspected of plotting attack on US

2024-10-09 09:05:39, Kosova & Bota CNA

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested an Afghan man who Justice Department officials say was inspired by the Islamic State militant group and was planning an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the US.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City, told investigators after his arrest that he planned his attack to coincide with Election Day next month and that he and an accomplice expected to die as martyrs, according to the indictment.

Tawhedi, who arrived in the US in September 2021, had taken several steps in recent weeks to advance his plans for the attack, including ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating family assets and buying tickets for his wife. and his child to return to Afghanistan, officials said.

The arrest comes as the FBI faces heightened concerns about the possibility of extreme violence on U.S. soil, with Director Christopher Wray telling The Associated Press in August that he could not recall a time in his career when there were so many different threats at once. .

"Terrorism remains the FBI's number one priority, and we will use every resource to protect the American people," Wray said in a statement Tuesday.

The FBI did not reveal exactly how Tawhedi came to be on investigators' radar, but cited evidence showing his involvement in planning the attack. A photograph from July, included in the indictment, shows a man who investigators identified as Tawhedi reading to two young children, including his daughter, "a text describing the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife."

Officials say Tawhedi also consumed Islamic State propaganda, contributed to a charity that secretly serves the militant group and communicated with a person the FBI said was involved in recruiting and indoctrinating people interested in extremism.

Tawhedi's alleged accomplice was not identified by the Justice Department, which described him only as a minor, an Afghan national and the brother of Tawhedi's wife.

After the two advertised the sale of personal property on Facebook, the FBI used an informant last month to respond to the offer and establish a communications link with them. The informant later invited them to a shooting range, where they ordered guns from an undercover FBI agent posing as a business partner, according to court documents.

Tawhedi was arrested on Monday after taking possession of two AK-47 rifles and the ammunition he had ordered, officials said. The unnamed accomplice was also arrested, but the Justice Department did not release details because he is a juvenile.

After he was arrested, the Justice Department said Tawhedi told investigators he planned an Election Day attack that would target large crowds of people.

Tawhedi was charged with conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, which has been designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization. The penalty for this charge is up to 20 years in prison.

He appeared in court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody.

A woman who identified herself as Tawhedi's wife declined to discuss the case.

"We don't want to talk to the media," said the woman, who did not give her name.

Tawhedi entered the U.S. on a special immigrant visa in 2021 and has been on temporary residency pending the completion of his immigration proceedings, the Justice Department said.

Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations dedicated to helping Afghans trying to leave Afghanistan, said that while the allegations are serious, “it's important that we don't blame an entire community for the actions of one individual. "Thousands of Afghans who settled in the United States are working to build new lives and contribute to our common future."

"These are the same individuals who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in Afghanistan for more than two decades, defending the values ??we hold dear," he said in a statement. "Now, they are our neighbors and we must support them as they seek safety and stability in their new home"./ VOA