The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
http://nypost.com/2015/06/16/student-arrested-for-allegedly-plotting-terror-attack-in-nyc/
Student arrested in NYC ‘terror plot’
By Selim Algar
June 16, 2015 | 8:59am
The feds have arrested a Queens college student who once called al Qaeda “too moderate,” saying he plotted to attack targets in New York City on behalf of the Islamic State terror group, The Post has learned.
Munther Omar Saleh, 20, was busted on June 7 after he and an unidentified cohort ran towards an undercover law enforcement car that was tailing them near the Whitestone Bridge, according to Brooklyn federal court documents.
From late March through this month, prosecutors charge, Saleh — who enrolled in a collegiate aeronautics program in January — made extensive online searches on building explosives and eluding law enforcement, court papers state.
“The investigation has uncovered that Saleh is making efforts to prepare an explosive device for detonation in the New York metropolitan area on behalf of ISIL,” according to court papers filed by Special Agent Christopher Buscaglia.
Saleh, who the feds say tweeted his concern that al Qaeda was becoming “too moderate” in 2014, espoused ISIS actions in online postings and specifically endorsed the Charlie Hebdo massacre in France, the burning to death of a Jordanian pilot and the beheading of a Japanese journalist.
He came under scrutiny after a Port Authority cop saw him walking near the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey March 22.
He unexpectedly asked him for a ride, according to documents. The officer declined and told him to use the bus to get to New York – but he never did.
The next day, the same officer saw Saleh loitering on the span on the New York side. “Saleh was looking around repeatedly while walking along the bridge,” court papers state.
The cop asked to interview him at a Port Authority office in New Jersey and he agreed. He repeatedly denied any links to terror during that interview and voiced his opposition to ISIS and their ideology.
When he consented to a search of his computer, agents noticed several files containing ISIS propaganda – but Saleh claimed not to be familiar with them, according to court papers.
Investigators dug into Saleh’s computer activity and found that he had been making online inquiries into electronic circuitry and weapons — including extensive research into the construction of pressure cookers.
In a May conversation with a confidential informant posing as an ISIS sympathizer, Saleh said, he was New York and potentially plotting an attack, the feds claim. “Well I‘m in NY and trying to do an Op,” according to court papers.
“Based on my training and experience, I understand ‘Op’ to be shorthand for ‘operation’ and to refer to an effort to conduct a terrorist attack,” a federal agent states in court papers.
Saleh later stopped talking to the informant on orders from superiors, court papers state.
He also visited a Queens spy shop on May 10 but emerged without buying anything. That same day, the feds claim he searched online for items that could possibly be used to conduct a terror attack – including “watches, vacuum cleaners, lamps and vehicles including vans and motorcycles,” the papers state.
On May 28, Saleh “viewed images on the Internet of various notable New York City landmarks and tourist attractions,” papers state. “I believe Saleh viewed this information to assess potential targets for a terrorist attack,” the agent wrote.
Saleh also searched for disguises online, including beards and wigs, according to court papers.
In the early morning hours of June 7, Saleh and an unidentified co-conspirator were traveling in a green Jeep Cherokee in Queens and stopped to get it washed, papers state.
They later engaged in what agents interpreted as “anti-surveillance” maneuvers – including driving with their lights off and suddenly accelerating and braking, according to documents.
At 4 a.m., the pair stopped at a red light on 20th Avenue near the Whitestone Expressway when they got out and approached a law enforcement car that was tailing them.
After returning to their car they exited again and “began to run towards the law enforcement vehicle,” according to court papers.
Additional agents swooped down on the scene and arrested both men. A folding knife was found in the waistband of Saleh’s cohort, papers state.
Saleh appeared in Brooklyn federal court on Saturday and was ordered held pending his next court date, a source told The Post.
In addition to his weapons inquiries, Saleh also downloaded several documents from clerics who openly sympathized with ISIL and translated some of the items from Arabic to English, court papers state.
In May, Saleh also tweeted his support for a terror attack in Garland, Texas where two armed men stormed a controversial cartoon contest featuring depictions of the Prophet Mohammed, papers state.
Student arrested in NYC ‘terror plot’
By Selim Algar
June 16, 2015 | 8:59am
The feds have arrested a Queens college student who once called al Qaeda “too moderate,” saying he plotted to attack targets in New York City on behalf of the Islamic State terror group, The Post has learned.
Munther Omar Saleh, 20, was busted on June 7 after he and an unidentified cohort ran towards an undercover law enforcement car that was tailing them near the Whitestone Bridge, according to Brooklyn federal court documents.
From late March through this month, prosecutors charge, Saleh — who enrolled in a collegiate aeronautics program in January — made extensive online searches on building explosives and eluding law enforcement, court papers state.
“The investigation has uncovered that Saleh is making efforts to prepare an explosive device for detonation in the New York metropolitan area on behalf of ISIL,” according to court papers filed by Special Agent Christopher Buscaglia.
Saleh, who the feds say tweeted his concern that al Qaeda was becoming “too moderate” in 2014, espoused ISIS actions in online postings and specifically endorsed the Charlie Hebdo massacre in France, the burning to death of a Jordanian pilot and the beheading of a Japanese journalist.
He came under scrutiny after a Port Authority cop saw him walking near the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey March 22.
He unexpectedly asked him for a ride, according to documents. The officer declined and told him to use the bus to get to New York – but he never did.
The next day, the same officer saw Saleh loitering on the span on the New York side. “Saleh was looking around repeatedly while walking along the bridge,” court papers state.
The cop asked to interview him at a Port Authority office in New Jersey and he agreed. He repeatedly denied any links to terror during that interview and voiced his opposition to ISIS and their ideology.
When he consented to a search of his computer, agents noticed several files containing ISIS propaganda – but Saleh claimed not to be familiar with them, according to court papers.
Investigators dug into Saleh’s computer activity and found that he had been making online inquiries into electronic circuitry and weapons — including extensive research into the construction of pressure cookers.
In a May conversation with a confidential informant posing as an ISIS sympathizer, Saleh said, he was New York and potentially plotting an attack, the feds claim. “Well I‘m in NY and trying to do an Op,” according to court papers.
“Based on my training and experience, I understand ‘Op’ to be shorthand for ‘operation’ and to refer to an effort to conduct a terrorist attack,” a federal agent states in court papers.
Saleh later stopped talking to the informant on orders from superiors, court papers state.
He also visited a Queens spy shop on May 10 but emerged without buying anything. That same day, the feds claim he searched online for items that could possibly be used to conduct a terror attack – including “watches, vacuum cleaners, lamps and vehicles including vans and motorcycles,” the papers state.
On May 28, Saleh “viewed images on the Internet of various notable New York City landmarks and tourist attractions,” papers state. “I believe Saleh viewed this information to assess potential targets for a terrorist attack,” the agent wrote.
Saleh also searched for disguises online, including beards and wigs, according to court papers.
In the early morning hours of June 7, Saleh and an unidentified co-conspirator were traveling in a green Jeep Cherokee in Queens and stopped to get it washed, papers state.
They later engaged in what agents interpreted as “anti-surveillance” maneuvers – including driving with their lights off and suddenly accelerating and braking, according to documents.
At 4 a.m., the pair stopped at a red light on 20th Avenue near the Whitestone Expressway when they got out and approached a law enforcement car that was tailing them.
After returning to their car they exited again and “began to run towards the law enforcement vehicle,” according to court papers.
Additional agents swooped down on the scene and arrested both men. A folding knife was found in the waistband of Saleh’s cohort, papers state.
Saleh appeared in Brooklyn federal court on Saturday and was ordered held pending his next court date, a source told The Post.
In addition to his weapons inquiries, Saleh also downloaded several documents from clerics who openly sympathized with ISIL and translated some of the items from Arabic to English, court papers state.
In May, Saleh also tweeted his support for a terror attack in Garland, Texas where two armed men stormed a controversial cartoon contest featuring depictions of the Prophet Mohammed, papers state.
