Canadian pleads guilty to terrorism charges
NEW YORK — U.S. authorities said a 19-year-old Canadian pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges in connection with what they call an ISIS-inspired plot to target landmarks in New York City more than a year ago, including Times Square and the city’s subway system.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York says the Canadian, identified as Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, of Mississauga, Ont., has been in custody since the FBI arrested him in New Jersey in May 2016.
The arrests were first announced Friday following a court’s unsealing of federal terrorism charges against the three men. It was not immediately clear why U.S. officials felt the information had to be sealed for more than a year.
The other two accused are identified as Talha Haroon, a 19year-old U.S. citizen residing in Pakistan, and Russell Salic, 37, from the Philippines.
U.S. authorities allege the three men communicated through Internet messaging applications, allegedly plotting to carry out bombing and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in 2016.
They also allege that while in Canada, El Bahnasawy purchased bomb-making materials and helped secure a cabin within driving distance of New York City to use for building the explosive devices and staging the attacks.
El Bahnasawy and Haroon began communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS supporter, and declared their allegiance to the terror group.
El Bahnasawy stated to the agent that “1/8t3/8hese Americans need an attack” and that he aspired to “create the next 9/11” with plans to come to New York from Canada, American authorities alleged. They also said he sent the agent a photo of Times Square, saying, “1/8W3/8e seriously need a car bomb at times square. . Look at these crowds of people!”
The unsealed court documents alleged that El Bahnasawy expressed a desire to “shoot up concerts cuz they kill a lot people. ... We just walk in with guns in our hands. That’s how Paris guys did it,” the papers said in an apparent reference to the slaughter by men armed with assault weapons at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris during a performance of the rock group Eagles of Death Metal in 2015.