Canadian gets 40-year sentence for NYC terror plot

Abdul Rahman Al Bahnasawy admitted 7 counts of terrorism-related offences.

A Canadian man who plotted to bomb the New York subway and Times Square and “create the next 9/11” in support of Daesh has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Abdul Rahman Al Bahnasawy, 20, of Mississauga, Canada, pleaded guilty two years ago to seven counts of terrorism-related offences following his arrest in May 2016. But the charges against him were kept under seal until October 2017 while US authorities sought other participants in the plot. According to the Justice Department, Al Bahnasawy launched the plot together with a US citizen living in Pakistan, Talha Haroon, and Philippines native and resident Russell Salic. Al Bahnasawy scouted out possible attack locations in New York, including bombing targets and concert venues where he would shoot people, with his target date in mid-2016. The Justice Department said he had acquired materials to make bombs and a place to stay just outside of the city from which to stage the attacks. “Demonstrating his commitment to carry out the attacks, Al Bahnasawy pinpointed bomb locations on a map of the subway system, and acquired an array of bomb-making materials. Al Bahnasawy aspired, in his words, to ‘create the next 9/11,’” said Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney from New York.

Haroon had planned to fly to the United States to take part while Salic wired money from the Philippines to help them. The plot was disrupted by an FBI agent who posed as a Daesh supporter ready to take part in the plot, the Justice Department said.

Al Bahnasawy was arrested after he travelled to the New York City area to prepare for the attacks. Haroon was arrested in Pakistan in September 2016 and Salic was arrested in the Philippines in April 2017. Both are still being held and face extradition requests from the United States.