As the Las Vegas attacker’s plans come more clearly into view, authorities have just arrested Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, Talha Haroon, and Russel Salic in connection with an ISIS-inspired plot to attack concerts, landmarks, and subways in New York City. New York officials say thankfully the plan was more aspirational than actionable. The goal was to injure and maim as many people as possible, but the terrorists were arrested before obtaining any weapons.
Bahnasawy is a Canadian citizen who purchased bomb making materials and helped secure a cabin near NYC to prep for the attack. Haroon is a US citizen who planned to travel from Pakistan to assist in the attack, and met with explosives experts in Pakistan to assist. Salic is a citizen of the Philippines who wired money to the US to fund the operation.
While we know New York was the plan, we don’t know what venues or landmarks were targeted at this time. The plot was uncovered and interrupted months ago, but authorities announced it today because the search had long continued to determine other possible terrorism connections.
The most challenging and difficult decisions that are made in these investigations is finding where the balance is –- between protecting the integrity of the investigation and letting the public know the vital information they need to determine whether or not they feel safe going to a particular venue
DOJ: Federal terrorism charges unsealed against 3 men who allegedly plotted to attack NYC during the summer of 2016 pic.twitter.com/SRdtHWsUYI
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 6, 2017
