A Queens man has been arrested after authorities say he plotted to bomb Manhattan’s Times Square Ashiqul Alam was taken into custody Thursday by the Joint Terrorism Task Force , which includes both the NYPD and FBI The 22-year-old man from Queens allegedly bought guns and wanted to use a suicide vest and grenades to attack Times Square to kill police officers and civilians.Authorities say Alam bought two guns with their serial numbers removed from undercover agents. </s> By TOM HAYS and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man plotted to use guns, grenades and suicide vests to bring bloodshed to Times Square, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Ashiqul Alam was arrested Thursday after arranging through an undercover agent to buy a pair of pistols whose serial numbers had been obliterated, prosecutors said. Alam also discussed buying a silencer, ammunition and hand grenades, which he said could each “take out at least eight people,” prosecutors said.

Alam, 22, of Queens, was expected to be arraigned Friday on weapons-related offenses, but court documents filed in connection with the case describe months of plotting for a terrorist attack aimed at killing civilians and law enforcement officers in Times Square.

Alam started speaking with the undercover agent about his plans last August and went with him on a reconnaissance trip to the bustling Manhattan tourist district in January, the documents said.

Alam “repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area” and spoke about terrorist organizations including ISIS during conversations with the undercover agent, the court documents said.

Alam used his cellphone to take video of Times Square and “explained to the undercover that he was looking for potential targets,” according to the documents.

Times Square, which is in the heart of the Broadway theater district and is packed with tourists day and night, has been a target of attacks before.

In 2010, Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen who had gotten explosives training in Pakistan, tried but failed to detonate a car bomb there. He was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2017, a Bangladeshi immigrant, Akayed Ullah, detonated a bomb in an underground pedestrian concourse linking the Times Square subway station to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Only Ullah was seriously hurt, though bystanders were injured by shrapnel.

That same year, a man who told police he was high on drugs and hearing voices drove his car into the square’s crowds, killing a teenager and injuring around 20 people.

Police always have a heavy presence in Times Square and its sidewalks and plazas are partially protected with steel posts intended to stop speeding vehicles. </s> Federal and local authorities arrested 22-year-old Ashiqul Alam of Jackson Heights, Queens, on Thursday for plotting to attack Times Square with guns and hand grenades. Law enforcement described the suspect as a “lone wolf” with no known links to any larger conspiracy to attack New York City.

According to CBS News in New York, Alam was taken into custody by the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the New York Police Department and FBI. He caught the attention of the task force by expressing interest in obtaining explosives for an attack in New York and also wanted to try killing senior government officials in Washington, DC. The authorities launched an undercover sting operation and arrested Alam when he attempted to purchase the weapons he wanted.

NBC News in New York said Alam made “jihadist comments as to why he would target the Crossroads of the World” during his interactions with undercover law enforcement officers. According to NBC’s sources, he was arrested while trying to purchase illegal guns, but had previously spoken of using grenades or a suicide vest for his attack. NBC reports:

[Alam] had allegedly spoken of wanting to get or use a suicide bomb vest and talked of hand grenades and explosives, as well as potential attacks on politicians in New York City and Washington, D.C. But a senior law enforcement official says he eventually came around to wanting to shoot up Times Square – and he allegedly tried to buy guns Thursday, which prompted his arrest. Sources say he was trying to buy guns with their serial numbers removed.

NBC’s sources said Alam’s scheme proceeded as far as accumulating surveillance video of Times Square with his cell phone to plan his attack. The authorities believe there is no imminent threat to Times Square now that Alam is in custody. NBC’s sources said he will not face terrorism charges.

Prosecutors said Alam mentioned several foreign terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State, during his exchanges with undercover federal agents. He also praised Osama bin Laden and expressed approval for al-Qaeda’s attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

“I want to die fighting, man,” he told an undercover officer during a visit to a shooting range in Pennsylvania in January.

CNBC described Alam as a “lawful permanent resident of the U.S.” who is a “citizen of Bangladesh.” His neighbors in Queens described him as “respectful” and “quiet,” saying they were “shocked” to learn of his arrest. A search of his family home by federal agents on Thursday afternoon was noted by the community. Computers and boxes of goods were reportedly taken from the home by agents.

Times Square has been targeted by jihadis several times over the past few years, most recently by Bangladesh-born Akayed Ullah, who detonated a pipe bomb at a bus terminal in 2017. He hoped to kill as many innocent people as possible with a suicide attack, but was the only person seriously injured in the blast.

A Canadian citizen named Abdulrahman el-Bahnasawy planned a spree of bombings and shootings in Times Square and the New York City subway system during the Ramadan holiday in 2016. Bahnasawy was caught when he attempted to travel to New York by an undercover FBI agent posing as an Islamic State operative.

Another would-be jihadi, Yemeni-born Mohamed Rafik Naji, was arrested by the Joint Terrorism Task Force in 2016 after mulling over the idea of attacking Times Square to get the attention of Islamic State leadership. Naji’s ideas included tossing pipe bombs filled with nails and running people over with a stolen garbage truck. </s> New York — A man accused of planning to attack Times Square in New York City has been arrested and is being held without bail. Sources tell CBS News the FBI keyed in on suspect Ashiqul Alam based on suspicious social media activity and reached out to him in August of 2018.

Alam allegedly praised al-Qaeda and ISIS over the course of 10 months of clandestine meetings with an undercover officer. According to court papers, Alam said the September 11th attacks were "a complete success."

The 22-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant from Queens zeroed in on attacking New York City. Aslam said he wanted to use "suicide vests" or AR-15 rifles in an attack on Times Square. He and the undercover agent went on several reconnaissance runs there. Alam said a successful attack would make them "legends."

Prosecutors said Alam also expressed interest in targeting other New York City landmarks, including attacking the Freedom Tower with a rocket launcher.

"With somebody like this you try to keep them under surveillance as long as possible, to see if he's tied to a network. To see if he's tied to suppliers. To see where he's getting his information, his potential source of other weapons," said Jerry Hauer, former head of New York State's Department of Homeland Security.

In a sting operation Thursday, Alam purchased two Glock handguns with the serial numbers scratched off from other undercover officers. He was then quickly arrested.

Sources said they worried Alam was committed enough to actually carry out some kind of attack and they moved to arrest him as soon as he took possession of the guns. His attorney has not commented. </s> NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on a man accused of buying guns as part of a Times Square terror attack plot (all times local):

Federal prosecutors have charged a New York City man with buying illegal guns from an undercover agent as part of a planned terrorist attack on Times Square.

Prosecutors said in court papers made public Friday that 22-year-old Ashiqul Alam spoke about terrorist organizations including ISIS during months of conversations with the agent.

They said he "repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area."

Alam is in federal custody awaiting arraignment. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer.

Prosecutors say he was nabbed in a sting in which the undercover officer sold him a pair of semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers.

According to court papers, Alam and the undercover agent made a trip to Times Square in January and recorded video of the area.

Authorities have arrested a New York man who talked about wanting to throw a grenade in Times Square.

Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press the man was placed under investigation over the comments, and then arrested late Thursday after trying to buy a weapon.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the charges hadn't been made public yet.

They called the man's statements "aspirational" and never reached a stage that endangered the public.

The man is expected to be arraigned Friday at a federal court in Brooklyn Friday.

Times Square has been a target of attacks before. An Islamic militant tried to detonate a car bomb there in 2010.

In 2017, a man detonated a bomb in a tunnel linking the square to a bus terminal. </s> Ashiqul Alam, 22 years of age, of Jackson Heights, Queens, was arrested after planning to buy a pair of 9mm Glock semiautomatic handguns. The serial numbers on the weapons had been obstructed. Alam was arrested as part of an FBI sting operation.

Alam, who lives with his parents, planned an attack on Times Square on police officers, tourists, and anyone. He also wanted to kill a senior government official in New York City or Washington.

He praised the 9/11 attacks to an undercover agent. “The mission is a complete success, thousands of American soldiers died and trillions of their moneys are gone in the war,” he allegedly said.

“As alleged, Ashiqul Alam bought illegal weapons as part of his plan to kill law enforcement officers and civilians in a terrorist attack on Times Square,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a public statement. “What he did not know was that he was buying weapons from government agents, who were monitoring his plans and intervening to prevent those plans from escalating into deadly violence.”

The ungrateful immigrant is a legal permanent resident from Bangladesh with a green card.

So far, Alam is being held on weapons charges, not terrorism. He’s just another angry foreigner who never would have been able to carry out an attack. Why don’t they shut the border down and really accomplish something? Hundreds of thousands this year alone and we don’t know who the hell they are. </s> [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

Around the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks last year, Ashiqul Alam voiced his admiration for their mastermind, Osama bin Laden, and said he wanted to carry on Bin Laden’s legacy of violent extremism, court documents said.

“He did what he is supposed to do,” Mr. Alam, 22, said, according to a criminal complaint. “Now it’s up to us.”

That sentiment, expressed to an undercover law enforcement agent, kicked off a series of conversations about a potential terrorist attack in New York City that ultimately led to Mr. Alam’s arrest on Thursday, the authorities said.

Mr. Alam, a green-card holder from Bangladesh who lives in Queens, was taken into custody after trying to buy two Glock pistols with defaced serial numbers from an undercover officer, officials said. </s> A New York City man accused of plotting a terrorist attack on Times Square spent months trying to stockpile guns and grenades, heaped praise on the Islamic State group and Osama bin Laden, and feared being known as the "Looney Tunes Terrorist" if his glasses fell off and he couldn't shoot straight, federal prosecutors said today.

Ashiqul Alam was arrested yesterday after arranging through an undercover agent to buy a pair of semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers, prosecutors said. Police Commissioner James O'Neill said that development was "a clear indicator of (Alam's) intent to move his plot forward."

Despite the grave allegations, the 22-year-old Alam is charged only with offences related to the gun transaction. He did not enter a plea at an arraignment yesterday and was ordered jailed without bail. Prosecutors argued he was a flight risk and a danger to the community.

He talked about wanting to "shoot down" gays, referring to them with a slur; using a "rocket launcher, like a huge one," to cause havoc at the World Trade Centre; and obtaining an enhanced driver's licence so he could walk onto a military base and "blow it up," the documents said.

Alam, born in Bangladesh, moved to the US as a child about 12 years ago and has been living in Queens as a legal permanent resident, prosecutors said.

Alam started speaking with the undercover agent about his plans in August and went with him on reconnaissance trips to Times Square and to a shooting range in Pennsylvania, the documents said.

Alam "repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area" during conversations with the agent and spoke glowingly about past attacks on the city, the court documents said.

Alam used his cellphone to take video of Times Square and "explained to the undercover that he was looking for potential targets," according to the documents.

Alam also allegedly discussed buying a silencer, ammunition and hand grenades, which he said could each "take out at least eight people."

In April, Alam told the undercover agent he was planning to get laser eye surgery so he wouldn't have to wear glasses during the planned attack, the documents said.

"Let's say we are in an attack, right, say that my glasses fall off. What if I accidentally shoot you? You know what I mean?" Alam said, according to the documents. "Imagine what the news channel would call me, the Looney Tunes Terrorist or the Blind Terrorist."

In 2010, Faisal Shahzad, a US citizen who had gotten explosives training in Pakistan, tried but failed to detonate a car bomb there. He was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2017, a Bangladeshi immigrant, Akayed Ullah, detonated a bomb in an underground pedestrian concourse linking the Times Square subway station to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Only Ullah was seriously hurt, though bystanders were injured by shrapnel.

That same year, a man who told police he was high on drugs and hearing voices drove his car into the square's crowds, killing a teenager and injuring around 20 people. </s> NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City college student accused of plotting a terrorist attack on Times Square spent months trying to stockpile guns and grenades, heaped praise on the Islamic State group and Osama bin Laden, and feared being known as the “Looney Tunes Terrorist” if his glasses fell off and he couldn’t shoot straight, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Ashiqul Alam was arrested Thursday after arranging through an undercover agent to buy a pair of semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers, prosecutors said. Police Commissioner James O'Neill said that development was "a clear indicator of (Alam's) intent to move his plot forward."

Despite the grave allegations, the 22-year-old Alam is charged only with offenses related to the gun transaction. Alam, wearing blue jeans and a purple T-shirt, did not enter a plea at an initial appearance Friday in federal court in Brooklyn.

Defense attorney James Darrow argued that his client should be released on a $200,000 bond since his client has a solid background and the charges he's facing so far don't include terrorism.

The defendant, a legal resident born in Bangladesh, moved to the U.S. as a child about 12 years ago, Darrow said. He has lived in Queens with his parents while attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice and working two jobs, the lawyer added.

But a federal magistrate ordered Alam held without bail after prosecutors argued that he was a danger to the community and a flight risk. Family members who attended the hearing left court without speaking to reporters.

Court documents describe months of plotting for an attack Alam told an undercover agent would make them "legends."

Alam spoke of plotting to kill civilians and law enforcement officers in Times Square and targeting a senior government official in Washington, according to the documents.

He talked about wanting to "shoot down" gays, referring to them with a slur; using a "rocket launcher, like a huge one," to cause havoc at the World Trade Center; and obtaining an enhanced driver's license so he could walk onto a military base and "blow it up," the documents said.

Alam started speaking with the undercover agent about his plans in August and went with him on reconnaissance trips to Times Square and to a shooting range in Pennsylvania, the documents said.

Alam "repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area" during conversations with the agent and spoke glowingly about past attacks on the city, the court documents said.

Alam used his cellphone to take video of Times Square and "explained to the undercover that he was looking for potential targets," according to the documents.

Alam also allegedly discussed buying a silencer, ammunition and hand grenades, which he said could each "take out at least eight people."

In April, Alam told the undercover agent he was planning to get laser eye surgery so he wouldn't have to wear glasses during the planned attack, the documents said.

"Let's say we are in an attack, right, say that my glasses fall off. What if I accidentally shoot you? You know what I mean?" Alam said in a recorded conversation, according to the documents. "Imagine what the news channel would call me, the Looney Tunes Terrorist or the Blind Terrorist."

Times Square, the heart of the Broadway theater district and packed with tourists day and night, has been a target of attacks before.

In 2010, Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen who had gotten explosives training in Pakistan, tried but failed to detonate a car bomb there. He was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2017, a Bangladeshi immigrant, Akayed Ullah, detonated a bomb in an underground pedestrian concourse linking the Times Square subway station to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Only Ullah was seriously hurt, though bystanders were injured by shrapnel.

That same year, a man who told police he was high on drugs and hearing voices drove his car into the square's crowds, killing a teenager and injuring around 20 people.

Police always have a heavy presence in Times Square, and its sidewalks and plazas are partially protected with steel posts intended to stop vehicles.
Authorities arrested Ashiqul Alam who allegedly planned to attack Times Square in New York City with grenades, guns and a suicide vest.