September 28, 2011 - Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, of Ashland, Massachusetts, was arrested today in Framingham on federal charges that he planned to attack the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol with radio controlled model airplanes that would have been carrying C-4 plastic explosives and hand grenades. According to The Taunton Daily Gazette, the U.S. Department of Justice also accused Rezwan Ferdaus of "attempting to provide support and resources to al Qaeda so it could attack U.S. soldiers overseas."The NYDailyNews.com reports that "Ferdaus had been under surveillance by the FBI since March. The Northeastern University physics grad, an American citizen, had vowed to commit violent 'jihad' against the United States as far back as early 2010, according to a federal complaint."
The Daily News also reports that Ferdaus was arrested this morning "after he obtained 25-pounds of C-4 explosives, three grenades and six automatic AK-47 assault rifles from FBI agents posing as Al Qaeda operatives."The model planes that Ferdaus allegedly planned to use to bomb the Capitol and other buildings in Washington, D.C. were radio controlled scale models of F-4 Phantom and F-86 Sabre planes. Such models can be purchased from suppliers such as NitroPlanes.com.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the authorities describe the model planes as being "about one-tenth the size of real aircraft and measured up to 80 inches in length, with wingspans of up to 63 inches" and that Ferdaus "planned to control them using GPS devices, U.S. authorities alleged." WSJ also reports that "U.S. authorities didn't say how they came to investigate Mr. Ferdaus. FBI and other counterterrorism investigators are known to monitor Internet forums where jihadist sympathizers gather."
"Like other recent cases involving alleged terror plots against US targets," reports the Christian Science Monitor, "this one was thwarted through the use of undercover FBI agents and cooperating witnesses. And as with other such cases, it was the suspect’s own words that gave law enforcement officials what they believe to be an easy case to prosecute." Ferdaus is a U.S. citizen.
One such example is John Francis Lechner, who is being held without bond on charges of illegally possessing more than 4,000 pounds of explosives and making violent threats against the U.S. government.
