Pakistani national charged with plotting terrorist attack in New York City; held

A Pakistani national residing in Canada was arrested after being charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and alSham ISIS a statement by the US Department of Justice saidThe 20yearold arrested accused Muhammad Shahzeb Khan allegedly planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7 with the intent of slaughtering in the name of ISIS as many Jewish people as possible Attorney General Merrick B Garland said as per the statementThe defendant was allegedly determined to kill Jewish people here in the United States nearly one year after Hamas horrific attack on Israel This investigation was led by the FBI and I am proud of the terrific work by the FBI team and our partners to disrupt Khans plan FBI Director Christopher Wray saidThe FBI will continue to work closely with our partners to investigate and hold accountable those who seek to commit violence in the name of ISIS or other terrorist organizations Fighting terrorism remains the FBIs top priority Wray addedAs alleged in the complaint Khan attempted to travel from Canada to New York City where he intended to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS at a Jewish center in Brooklyn New York Khan began posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging application about his support for ISIS in or about November 2023 when among other things Khan distributed ISIS propaganda videos and literature Subsequently he began communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers the statement saidKhan repeatedly instructed the undercover law enforcement officers to obtain ARstyle assault rifles ammunition and other materials to carry out the attacks and identified locations where the attacks would take place Khan also provided details about how he would cross the border from Canada into the United States to conduct the attacks During these conversations Khan emphasised that Oct 7th and Oct 11th are the best days for targeting the Jews because October 7 is the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel October 11 is Yom Kippur a Jewish religious holidayThe Pakistani national is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factorsThe Israel Defense Forces on October 7 last year declared a state of readiness for war following a massive barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip and infiltration of Hamas terrorists into Israel and the war is on ever sinceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever