An Arizona grand jury has indicted an accused Islamic State sympathiser on charges of plotting to stage an attack on a Phoenix-area state motor vehicle office with bombs and other weapons, prosecutors said on Thursday.
The suspect, Mahin Khan, 18, of Tucson, was arrested on July 1 by FBI agents and local authorities after a tip from citizens alerted them to suspicious behaviour, according to a statement from the Arizona attorney general’s office.
In a three-count indictment, Khan was charged with terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and conspiracy to commit misconduct involving weapons.
Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from an investigation of Khan’s repeated communications with an individual he believed to be an Islamic State fighter.
In the communications, prosecutors said, Khan sought to “obtain weapons including pipe bombs or pressure cooker bombs” for an attack on a motor vehicle division office in Maricopa County.
The identity of Khan’s alleged co-conspirator, or whether the person was an informant or undercover FBI agent, was not immediately known.
In a probable cause statement filed in the case earlier this week, authorities said Khan described himself in an email as an “American Jihadist who supports” Islamic State, the militant group that has seized large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq.
{{/usCountry}}In a probable cause statement filed in the case earlier this week, authorities said Khan described himself in an email as an “American Jihadist who supports” Islamic State, the militant group that has seized large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq.
{{/usCountry}}Although the investigation was continuing, “there is not believed to be a further threat” from Khan or his alleged activities, prosecutors said.