The FBI has yet again employed a counterterrorism tactic that has proven extremely useful over the past few years in disrupting terror plots aimed at the United States. Amine el Khalifi, an illegal alien of Moroccan decent, was arrested today while wearing a suicide vest which he intended to detonate inside the US Capitol building in Washington DC. The attack would have been devastating were it not for the interception of his plot by undercover FBI agents, who posed as al Qaeda operatives and provided him with a non-functioning explosive vest.
“The complaint filed today alleges that Amine El Khalifi sought to blow himself up in the U.S. Capitol Building,” US Attorney Neil MacBride said in a press release issued Department of Justice. “El Khalifi allegedly believed he was working with al Qaeda and devised the plot, the targets, and the methods on his own.”
El Khalifi “became known to the JTTF [Joint Terrorism Task Force] because of his stated desire to carry out attacks in the US, specifically, the US Capitol building,” James McJunkin, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office said. “This arrest is the result of dedicated special agents, task force officers and intelligence analysts from the FBI and our partner law enforcement agencies that make up the JTTF.”
Officials have been tight-lipped as to how el Khalifi raised suspicions, but the DOJ press release said that a confidential human source reported el Khalifi’s intention to carry out an attack on US soil. It was during a meeting at an Alexandria, Va. home earlier this year that el Khalifi, along with other unidentified individuals, handled weapons and discussed his displeasure with the ‘war on terror’, which alarmed the confidential source who contacted law enforcement. It was after this report that the FBI began their investigation on el Khalifi.
He was then introduced by a man he knew as “Hussein” to another man named “Yusuf,” both of whom el Khalifi believed to be al Qaeda members, but who in fact were undercover law enforcement officers. During meetings with the undercover agents, el Khalifi discussed various targets, eventually settling on a suicide mission against the Capitol building. On Jan. 15, el Khalifi expressed his willingness and competency in carrying out an attack by remotely detonating an explosive in a West Virginia quarry, then selected Feb. 17 as the day his operation would take place. Over the next few weeks, el Khalifi staked out his target and decided on a point of entry into the Capitol, where he would conduct his attack. Throughout this time, el Khalifi was closely monitored by law enforcement.
Today after first after praying at the Dar al-Hirjah mosque in Northern Virginia, el Khalifi set out to execute his plan. Holding an inoperable MAC-10 automatic weapon and wearing what he believed to be a suicide vest, he walked alone from a parking garage toward the US Capitol. Before he could exit the garage, he was taken into custody. El Khalifi had his first court appearance today at 4:15, where he is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against a property that is owned and used by the United States. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
7 Comments
Great job by the FBI. Keep taken them down and show them them that allah does not love them our support them.
Was el Khalifi a registered voter?
You can bet that CAIR will be fuming “entrapment”. Great job, FBI!
What concerns me besides the plot is the fact that he has been living in the US for many years illegally. How was he able to get an apartment? What kind of work did he do and how was he vetted? Surely someone must have known he was here illegally. ICE is obviously on their butts to allow him to be here for at least 11 years undetected. News reports stated that his landlord has spoken to authorities a few years ago about his strange behavior. The one good thing for the residents of his building and Home Owner’s Association is that they are being more diligent in screening applicants!
Great job by the FBI
While Islam has in very many ways civilized civilization and added beauty, art, architecture and medicine to Western Civilization, most of America’s politicians, while they speak of the “War on Terror,” do not really understand or want to understand the fact that particularly the Anglo-Saxon countries of America, Britain, Australia, NZ, etc are at war with a large segment of Sunni Islam and this is just the beginning and they are dedicated if dangerous warriors. America’s military and intelligence communities understand as in the case of Mr. El Khalifi, who is the lone wolf type of terrorist, and they are usually less adept in their training thank God. Excellent job FBI for taking down this dangerous enemy of the US.
I agree! Great work from our FBI and other agency folks. But remember, there’s a great deal more radical Islamists out there in the world, and many of them within our own perimeter right now.