Suspected terrorist arrested near US Capitol building
A Moroccan man who believed he was working with al-Qaida was arrested near the US Capitol as he planned to detonate a "suicide vest", given to him by undercover officers.
Amine El Khalifi, 29, was taken into custody with an inoperable gun and inert explosives, according to a counter-terrorism official.
He arrived near Washington DC in a van with the two officers and walked towards the Congress building, according to court papers. He was arrested before he left the parking garage.
El Khalifi made a brief appearance in federal court in Virginia, last night. A judge set a bail hearing for Wednesday.
No address for El Khalifi was listed in court papers, but FBI agents in blue jackets raided a red brick rambler home in Virginia after the arrest. A police car blocked the entrance.
A criminal complaint charges him with knowingly and unlawfully attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
El Khalifi, who was under constant surveillance, expressed interest in killing at least 30 people and considered targeting a building in Alexandria, Virginia, and a restaurant, synagogue and a place where military staff gather in Washington, before he settled on the Capitol after canvassing the area a couple of times, the counter-terrorism official said.
During the investigation, El Khalifi went with undercover agents to a quarry in West Virginia in January to practise detonating explosives, according to court documents.
He believed he was working with an al-Qaida operative on the plot, according to an affidavit.
El Khalifi came to the US when he was 16 and is unemployed and not believed to be associated with the terror group.
He had been under investigation for about a year and had overstayed his visitor visa which expired in 1999, making him in the country illegally, according to court documents.
According to the affidavit filed by an FBI agent, El Khalifi told acquaintances in January 2011 that he agreed the "war on terrorism" was a "war on Muslims" and that they needed to be ready for war.
Before settling on a plot to conduct a suicide bombing in Washington, El Khalifi considered blowing up an office building in Alexandria, where military officials worked and a restaurant in Washington to target military officials who gathered there. He even purchased supplies including nails for the operation, according to the affidavit.
When he decided to bombing the Capitol, El Khalifi asked his associates for more explosives that would be detonated by dialling a mobile phone number. In January, he unknowingly told authorities he wanted to know if an explosion would be large enough to destroy an entire building.
El Khalifi met an undercover law enforcement officer, who gave him an automatic weapon, which had been rendered inoperable. El Khalifi carried the firearm around the room, practised pulling the trigger and looking at himself in the mirror.
A former landlord in Arlington, Virginia, said he believed El Khalifi was suspicious and called police a year and a half ago.
Frank Dynda said when he told El Khalifi to leave, the suspect said he had a right to stay and threatened to beat up Mr Dynda.
Mr Dynda said he thought El Khalifi was making bombs, but police told him to leave the man alone. Mr Dynda had El Khalifi evicted in 2010.
El Khalifi had several men staying with him and based on packages left for him, Mr Dynda said. It appeared that he was running a luggage business from the apartment, though Mr Dynda never saw any bags.
"I reported to police I think he's making bombs," he said. "I was ready to get my shotgun and run him out of the building, but that would have been a lot of trouble."
Two people briefed on the matter said the FBI has had El Khalifi under surveillance around the clock for several weeks.
Dar al-Hijrah Mosque imam Johari Abdul-Malik, who along with other Muslim leaders meets regularly with the FBI, said he was contacted by an agency official and told that El Khalifi was not someone he needed to worry about and "not a regular at your mosque or any mosque in the area"
Police are close to arresting one of El Khalifi's associates on charges unrelated to the terror conspiracy, the counter-terrorism official said. The associate was said to also be a Moroccan, living in the US illegally.
