Canadian Who Plotted NYC Terror Attack Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison

Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Wednesday after he conspired to conduct shootings and bombings in New York City in the summer of 2016, according to a Justice Department press release. El Bahnasawy, a 20-year-old Canadian, conspired with a U.S. citizen in Pakistan and a Philippine resident to launch attacks in “heavily populated areas” of New York during the month of Ramadan, all on behalf of the Islamic State, prosecutors said. El Bahnasawy went so far as to acquire bomb-making materials and secure a cabin within driving distance of New York “to use for building explosive devices and staging” the attacks, authorities said. “Demonstrating his commitment to carry out the attacks, El Bahnasawy pinpointed bomb locations on a map of the subway system, and acquired an array of bomb-making materials,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in the release. “El Bahnasawy aspired, in his words, to ‘create the next 9/11.’”  El Bahnasawy was apprehended in May 2016 after he travelled from Canada to the NYC area. The individuals in Pakistan and the Philippines were also arrested and are in the process of going through extradition proceedings. El Bahnasawy pleaded guilty in October 2016 to terrorism charges.

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