WASHINGTON – A Virginia man who allegedly believed he was helping al-Qaeda plan bombings at Metrorail stations in the Washington DC area was arrested on Wednesday, the US justice department said.
Farooque Ahmed (34), of Ashburn, was taken into custody early in the morning after a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment on Tuesday against the naturalised US citizen who was born in Pakistan.
Federal officials said the public was never in any danger during the investigation and that federal authorities had closely monitored Mr Ahmed’s activities until his arrest.
Earlier this month, the United States and Britain warned of an increased risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, with Washington saying al-Qaeda might target transport infrastructure.
A US official said there was “no connection between recent reports of the terrorism threats in Europe and this arrest”.
Mr Ahmed was charged with trying to provide material support to a designated terrorist organisation, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to help carry out multiple bombings to cause mass casualties at DC-area Metrorail stations.
A law enforcement official said Mr Ahmed was passing the information to someone who was working with law enforcement. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison, the justice department said.
“Farooque Ahmed is accused of plotting with individuals he believed were terrorists to bomb our transit system, but a co-ordinated law enforcement and intelligence effort was able to thwart his plans,” said David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security.
Mr ahmed told undercover agents he had trained himself in firearms and hand-to-hand combat and was preparing to travel to the Pakistan-Afghanistanregion as early as January, according to an FBI affidavit released yesterday.
From April to October 25th Mr Ahmed allegedly conducted surveillance, videotaped, photographed and drew diagrams of the Arlington Cemetery, Courthouse, Crystal City and Pentagon City Metrorail stations and offered suggestions about where to place explosives to kill people in simultaneous attacks planned for 2011, the indictment said.
He allegedly told an individual whom he believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda that between 4pm and 5pm would be the best time for an attack to cause the most casualties, the indictment said.
A LinkedIn page created for Mr Ahmed identifies him as having a degree in computer science from the City College of New York in 2003, during the same period other records showed he had been living in New York. The profile listed Mr Ahmed as a network planning engineer for Ericsson and said he previously worked with Verizon and Sprint.
In Reston, Virginia, Ericsson Federal said Mr Ahmed had done contract work for the company.
Margaret Petney, who lives in the same street as Mr Ahmed in Ashburn, said the family moved in about a year-and-a-half ago and wore traditional Muslim clothing.
“They didn’t seem to be too friendly with anybody,” she said. “You never know who lives around you.”
Since the 9/11 attacks, US authorities have worried about another attack on US soil. Last week a Jordanian national was sentenced to 24 years in prison for attempting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. Earlier this month, Pakistani-born American Faisal Shahzad was sentenced to life in prison for trying to set off a car bomb in New York’s Times Square. – (Reuters, AP)