An Al Qaeda operative was sentenced to 40 years in prison yesterday after nearly carrying out a series of 2009 terror attacks in the UK and New York City. He was sentenced on a number of offenses.
According to the FBI, Abid Naseer was within days of executing an attack on a UK shopping mall and had planned attacks on the New York City subway station. In addition, Naseer planned to attack a newspaper office in Denmark for publishing cartoons depicting Mohammed. Naseer was directed and guided by senior Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan.
“Abid Naseer was part of an Al Qaeda conspiracy that targeted Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, for terrorist attack,” Assistant Attorney General Carlin said about the sentencing. “His conviction and sentence reflect our dedication to identifying and holding accountable those who seek to target the United States and its allies. I want to thank the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who are responsible for this successful result."
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“Dispatched by Al Qaeda to the U.K. in 2006, Abid Naseer exploited the educational visa system not to improve his own life, but to take away the lives of many others ‘in large numbers.’ Trained in weapons and explosives, he communicated in code to hide his evil intentions. Found guilty in a court of law, he has been spared the fate of death he wished upon others and will spend considerable time incarcerated in a country he and his co-conspirators failed to take down,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez said in a statement.
Naseer is 29 years old.
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