Man was planning an attack on behalf of ISIS, say authorities

A 19-year-old Pakistani American who authorities say told undercover agents that he planned to conduct a terror attack in the name of ISIS in New York was ordered held without bail.

A criminal complaint filed Friday (Aug. 30) in federal court in Brooklyn charged Awais Chudhary, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

AWAIS CHUDHARY

Chudhary, a resdent of Queens, N.Y., was arrested last week, and made his initial appearance in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein who ordered the suspect be held without bail.

“The defendant allegedly planned to conduct a deadly attack in New York on behalf of ISIS,” stated Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “The National Security Division, working with our partners, will remain vigilant in our efforts to identify, disrupt, and hold accountable those who would conduct a terrorist attack on our soil."

“Awais Chudhary had accepted the call from ISIS to kill fellow New Yorkers in the city he called home,” stated NYPD Commissioner O’Neill. “He had carefully planned, conducted reconnaissance, picked a target, and was in the process of obtaining the weapon. All he has left to do was to strike. The FBI agents and NYPD detectives of the JTTF should be commended for the disruption of this plot. Their work almost certainly saved lives.”

According to court documents, last month Chudhary used social media to undercover law enforcement officers through text messaging that he planned to conduct a stabbing or bombing attack on behalf of ISIS. Chudhary also wanted to record his attack to inspire others to commit similar acts of violence. 

Chudhary identified the pedestrian bridges over the Grand Central Parkway to the Flushing Bay Promenade (the Promenade) and the World’s Fair Marina (the Marina) as locations for the attack. 

 On Aug. 23, Chudhary told an undercover agent that he intended to use a knife “because that’s what he knows,” but if the undercover agent could instruct him on how to build a bomb, he would consider using an explosive device at a “mini-bridge over a busy road with many cars.” 

On the same day, court records allege that Chudhary texted another undercover agent a screenshot of a document entitled, “Islamic State” with the subheadings: “Places to Strike,” “The Ideal Knife” and “Knives to Avoid.” The instructions included a diagram of the human body with directions where to stab a victim.

Chudhary conducted several reconnaissance trips to the targeted locations. On Aug. 24, 2019, FBI agents surveilled Chudhary enter the Promenade in the vicinity of 27th Avenue and Ditmars Boulevard and take videos and photos with his cellphone of various locations, as well as the Marina, a nearby gas station, a donut shop and a security camera near the donut shop.

Between Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, 2019, Chudhary ordered online a tactical knife, a mask, gloves, and a cellphone chest and head strap to facilitate his recording of the attack. Chudhary was arrested yesterday as he attempted to retrieve the items from an online vendor’s retail location in Queens.

If convicted, Chudhary faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

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Unsealed documents reveal charages against 3 men for plotting terrorist attacks in NYC for ISIS.

SCREEN CAPTURE

Dr. Russell Salic was arrested in the Philippines for another alleged terrorist act.

DETAILS of a plot to commit terrorist attacks by three men rom the Philippines, Canada and the U.S.have been unsealed revealing a plan for bombings and shootings in New York City in the summer of 2016.

Those plans were thwarted when authorities in the U.S. and the Phlippines arrested Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian citizen; Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen residing in Pakistan; and Russell Salic, a 37-year-old Philippine citizen. 

The defendants are: Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian citizen; Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen residing in Pakistan; and Russell Salic, a 37-year-old Philippine citizen.  

Communicating through social media, these three men allegedly plotted to conduct multiple attacks on behalf of Isis. Bahnasawy wanted to use car bombs on Times Square and the subway and shoot up concerts with Haroon's assistance. Salic allegedly would finance the attacks.

On May 21, 2016, El Bahnasawy was arrested in New Jersey, after traveling to the United States from Canada in preparation for carrying out the NYC Attacks.  Haroon was arrested in Pakistan in or about September 2016, and Salic was arrested in the Philippines in or about April 2017.  

El Bahnasawy pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2016, to a seven-count Superseding Information before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.  

The Court unsealed the Superseding Information and El Bahnasawy’s guilty plea Friday, Oct. 6, as well as the Complaint and Indictment previously filed against El Bahnasawy. The Court also unsealed the Ccmplaints against Haroon and Dr. Salic.

Salic, an orthopedic surgeon, was arrested earlier this year for the ISIS-linked abduction and beheadings of two Filipino workers in behalf of Isis.

Salic could face charges in the horrific Philippines attacks before authorities agree to extradite the accused terrorist to face charges in the United States, authorities said Saturday. Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras said a court in Manila was considering the transfer request from the U.S. government regarding the new allegations made public Friday.

The doctor advocated the killings of New York City’s Jewish residents. “It would be a great pleasure if we could slaughter them,” he told an undercover law enforcement agent, according to prosecutors.

Hawaii soldier Indicted for attempting to provide material support to ISIS

A federal grand jury in Honolulu indicted a U.S. soldier Friday (July 21) for allegedly attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang was arrested by an FBI SWAT team on July 8. Kang was ordered held without bail.

An indictment was returned July 21 charging Sgt. First Class Kang, 34, stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Sgt. Ikaika Kang

The grand jury indictment, which was filed on July 19, charged Kang with four counts of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, based on events that occurred in Hawaii between June 21 and July 8. 

The indictment and an earlier criminal complaint allege that Kang met with undercover agents of the FBI whom he believed to be affiliated with ISIS and provided military information, some of which was classified at the SECRET level. 

Kang is also charged with providing property (a drone,s military clothing and equipment) and training (instruction on combat techniques and weapons training which was videotaped for future use by ISIS) to undercover agents whom he believed to be affiliated with ISIS.

Kang will appear in court on July 24, for an arraignment and plea on the charges, at which time a trial date will be scheduled.

Kang's court-appointed attorney, Birney Bervar, told The Associated Press Friday that the indictment was expected. Bervar said his client was "a decorated American soldier for 10 years, goes to Afghanistan and comes back and things start going off the rails.” He said his client will plead not guilty on Monday when a federal judge will set a trial date.

Bervar said he is working on getting Kang a mental health evaluation and that his client may suffer from service-related mental health issues.

Kang enlisted in the Army in December 2001, just months after the Sept. 11 attacks. He served in South Korea from 2002 to 2003. He deployed to Iraq from March 2010 to February 2011. 

Sgt. Ikaika Kang had been trained as an air traffic controller and was one of the army's highly trained combat instructors.

The Army said it was aware of Kang's pro-Isis sentiments in 2011 but kept him in the service to build a case and to see if he was connected to a terrorist group. The FBI said that Kang acted on his own accord.

Kang's father told Honolulu television station KHON and the Star-Advertiser newspaper his son may have had post-traumatic stress disorder. Kang told the newspaper he became concerned after his son's return from Afghanistan. He said his son became withdrawn after Afghanistan.

"He was reprimanded on several occasions for threatening to hurt or kill other service members, and for arguing pro-ISIS views while at work and on-post,” according to the affidavit. “Due to these remarks and threats, Kang’s security clearance was revoked in 2012, but reinstated the following year after Kang complied with military requirements stemming from the investigation.”

He was assigned to duty in Afghanistan in 2013-2014.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If convicted of the charges, 

Kang faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each count. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Taryn Meeks of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Sorenson and Marc Wallenstein.

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