HEADLINE
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY October 1 - 15, 2017
Canadian, Filipino, and American charged
for New York City terror plot
Three persons are
facing terrorism charges in
connection with an alleged
plan to stage attacks in New
York City.
The accused are a
Canadian, a Filipino, and an
American.
Canadian Abdulrahman
El Bahnasawy, 19 years old,
of Mississauga, Ontario has
pleaded guilty about the plot
to target landmarks in New
York City more than a year
ago, including Times Square
and the city’s subway system.
The U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the Southern
District of New York said the
Canadian has been in custody
since the FBI arrested him in
New Jersey in May 2016.
The arrests were first
announced on October 6
following a court’s unsealing
of federal terrorism charges
against the three men.
The other two accused
were identified as Talha
Haroon, a 19-year-old U.S.
citizen living in Pakistan, and
Russell Salic, 37, from the
Philippines.
Salic is reportedly a
Filipino doctor.
financing complaints.
U.S.
authorities
alleged that the three men
communicated
through
Internet
messaging
applications.
They allegedly plotted
to carry out bombing and
shootings in heavily populated
areas of New York City during
the Islamic holy month of
Ramadan in 2016.
They also allege that
while in Canada, El Bahnasawy
purchased
bomb-making
materials and helped secure a
cabin within driving distance
of New York City to use for
building the explosive devices
and staging the attacks.
El
Bahnasawy
and
Haroon
began
communicating
with
an
undercover FBI agent posing
as an ISIL supporter, and
declared their allegiance to
the terror group.
The
RCMP
issued
a
statement
saying
it
collaborated with the FBI in
the investigation that led to El
Bahnasawy’s arrest.
“This investigation is
a good example of how law
enforcement must continually
work
together
to rapidly to
gather evidence,
irrespective
of where that
evidence may be
found, to interdict
those who would
commit terrorist
atrocities,”
it
says.
T
h
e
charges against
El
Bahnasawy
i
n
c
l u d e
Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy
conspiracy
to
use weapons of
mass destruction
and
conspiracy
to commit acts
of
terrorism
transcending
n a t i o n a l
boundaries, both
which
carry
a
maximum penalty
of life in prison.
El Bahnasawy
is scheduled to
be sentenced on
December
12,
2017.
Talha Haroon
Salic
was
arrested
American justice officials
months
ago,
according said extradition proceedings
to Philippine Chief State are ongoing in Pakistan and
Prosecutor Ricardo Paras.
the Philippines to bring the
The
Philippine other two suspects to the U.S.
prosecutor also said that a to face the charges.
Manila court is weighing a U.S.
Even if a Manila court
government request that Salic approves the U.S. extradition
be extradited to face terrorism request, the Department of
Russell Salic
Justice in Manila would have of six sawmill workers, two of
to decide whether to let Salic whom were later beheaded,
face criminal complaints in in the southern Philippine
the Philippines first or be town of Butig in Lanao del
allowed to be flown to the Sur province in 2016.
U.S. to answer the terrorism
The kidnappings and
allegations there.
beheadings have been blamed
“The U.S. can also on the so-called Maute group,
request for a temporary a band of militants aligned
surrender of Salic to its with the Islamic State group
custody, but it’s in our options that was largely unknown until
to require him to face criminal they led a siege of southern
complaints here first,” Joel_AsianNewsToday_print.pdf
Paras Marawi city in May.
1
2017-10-05
said.
Nearly 1,000 people,
Salic,
37, is accused
of
sending
money
to
help
fund
the planned
a t t a c k s ,
according to
U.S.
court
documents,
which
have
been
made
public.
He
allegedly told
an undercover
FBI
agent
posing
as
an
Islamic
extremist that
his
ultimate
goal was to
join the Islamic
State group
in Syria but
that “it would
be a great
pleasure if we
can slaughter”
people
in
New York, the
documents
said.
Filipino
s t a t e
prosecutors
say
Salic
was
taken
into custody
around April
of this year
for
alleged
involvement in
the abduction
C
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WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
including 771 militants, have
been killed in the Marawi
violence, which the military
says will be contained soon
following months of airstrikes
and ground assaults.
The American suspect,
Talha Haroon, was arrested in
Pakistan last year.
Haroon’s
extradition
was halted in March by a
Pakistan court.
3:46 PM