Adel Daoud, 18, of Hillside, was initially detected as a potential threat in Oct. 2011, according to federal agents who make routine patrols of jihadist internet chat rooms.
The FBI made contact with Daoud using undercover operatives, according to an affidavit filed Saturday in federal court. The teenager, an American citizen, is accused of plotting an attack during the past few months.He provided FBI informants with a list of potential targets in metro Chicago according to the FBI, including military recruiting centers, bars, malls, and other tourist attractions.
"Look how scared they would be" Daoud said referring to Americans after such an attack states the affidavit. Many of the conversations leading up to the teenagers arrest were recorded, according to agents.
In perhaps the most jarring aspect of this case, federal authorities say that Daoud relied on a magazine produced and distributed by al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula. The publication, Inspire, was first revealed by the ABC7 I-Team as a virtual manual for budding terrorists.
"The point is in this magazine they encourage Muslims in the West especially in the USA to attack IN America" stated Daoud in one post to a jihadist web site. "i hate the oppression of the USA and i would love to do something that would hurt it from the inside (sic.)"
As the I-Team reported two years ago, Inspire magazine featured the Chicago skyline as a backdrop for an article encouraging "personal jihad." Among the techniques recommended to would-be jihadists was the use of vehicles to ram and kill pedestrians on downtown street corners.
The magazine also provided recipes for car bombs and instructions on how to effectively carry out such attacks on U.S. soil.
The weapons of mass destruction charge against Daoud states that he opted to detonate a vehicle bomb near a downtown Chicago nightclub because we "won't kill any Muslims for sure" due to liquor sales at the site. Alcohol consumption is prohibited under Islamic law.
"It's a bar, it's a liquor store, it's a concert. All in one bundle" Daoud is quoted as having told FBI operatives.
Finally, federal investigators say that "Daoud brought up the question of how they could make sure the bombing would be known as 'a Muslim terrorist attack'."
It was determined that a statement would be issued after the attack on "behalf of Al-Qaeda," stating that "we are responsible for this attack."
And the statement would conclude "that if the United States does not stop killing [Muslims] ...more attacks will come."
