WASHINGTON: U.S. authorities have charged a Pakistani national for allegedly planning a terror attack in New York City in support of the extremist group Daesh.
The suspect, identified as Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was arrested on Wednesday and is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn. According to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Khan’s intention was to kill “as many Jewish people as possible.”
Khan, who could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, allegedly attempted to travel from Canada to the United States, where he planned to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out the attack, as stated in the indictment.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed in a statement on Friday that Khan was apprehended on Wednesday in Ormstown, Quebec, located south of Montreal. The indictment alleges that Khan had discussed his plans with two undercover law enforcement officers, expressing his desire to create “a real offline cell” of Daesh supporters to execute the attack.
Khan, scheduled to appear in court in Montreal on September 13, is accused of instructing the undercover officers to acquire AR-style assault rifles, ammunition, and other materials for the attacks, and he reportedly identified specific locations where these attacks would take place.
Prosecutors have highlighted that Khan chose New York City as his target because it has “the largest Jewish population in America.”
“We are deeply grateful to our Canadian partners for their critical law enforcement actions in this matter. Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to live in fear of a hate-fueled terrorist attack,” Attorney General Garland stated.
This development follows just weeks after authorities in Washington charged another Pakistani man, Asif Merchant, for allegedly having ties with Iran in connection to a foiled plot to assassinate U.S. politicians. Merchant, 46, had reportedly attempted to recruit individuals in the U.S. to carry out the plot as retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ top commander, Qasem Soleimani, in 2020.
According to sources, Merchant, who holds a Master’s degree in Management Systems and has a background in the banking sector, is married and a father of two. He had traveled to Iran several times between November 2017 and April 2024 using three different passports.
Upon investigation, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) sources in Pakistan revealed that no criminal record of the suspect was found in the country.
