Massachusetts man charged with intending to launch terrorist attack
A man in the US state of Massachusetts has been charged with attempting to launch terrorist attacks on behalf of ISIL, including devising a plot to bomb college cafeterias.
The man, identified as Alexander Ciccolo, was charged with illegal possession of arms and turned in by his father, a Boston police captain, CNN reported citing court documents and sources.
Robert Ciccolo turned in his son, who also goes by the name Ali al-Amriki, after alarming comments he made.
"While we were saddened and disappointed to learn of our son's intentions, we are grateful that authorities were able to prevent any loss of life or harm to others," the family said in a statement, asking for privacy.
The 23-year-old was said to have been suffering from a mental illness for a long time.
Inspired by Takfiri terrorist in Syria and Iraq, he aimed to detonate homemade bombs such as pressure cookers filled with black powder, ball bearings, and glass in highly populated locations such as college cafeterias.
Ciccolo had conversations about his plot with men who sold him firearms on July 4. The men, however, cooperated with the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Upon receiving his Colt AR-15 .223-caliber rifle, SigArms Model SG550-1, 556 caliber rifle, Glock 17-9mm pistol, and Glock 20-10 mm pistol, Ciccolo was arrested.
He had also been spotted while buying a pressure cooker identical to the one used for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
A number of unfinished Molotov cocktails were also found in Ciccolo's apartment.
A detention hearing is set for Tuesday afternoon in US District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012, the Takfiri militants have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations and crucifixions in areas under their control in Iraq, Syria and more recently Libya.
The US and some of its allies have been conducting airstrikes against the ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
US President Barack Obama acknowledged during concluding remarks at the G7 summit in Germany earlier this month that his administration still lacks a “complete strategy” in pushing back the ISIL Takfiri group.
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