Man charged with would-be suicide attack on US Capitol

Feb 17, 2012, 23:16 GMT

Washington - An alleged would-be suicide bomber was arrested on his way to what he believed would be an attack on the US Capitol Friday, the US Justice Department said.

Amine El Khalifi, 29, an illegal immigrant from Morocco, was charged in a Virginia court with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against government property. He could face up to life in prison.

Law enforcement officials had become aware of his alleged desire to attack US targets and he was later introduced to agents posing as members of al-Qaeda.

El Khalifi proposed a bomb attack against US military facilities, a synagogue or a restaurant frequented by military officers before settling on the Capitol as a target in what he allegedly believed was a broader al-Qaeda operation, the Justice Department said.

Agents posing as al-Qaeda members had provided him with a fake gun and fake explosives in a suicide vest at a parking garage on Friday that they claim he intended to set off at the Capitol. He had apparently surveyed the building on multiple occasions in recent weeks and met with the agents to discuss details of the attack.

The US Capitol Police and the FBI arrested El Khalifi in the parking garage near the Capitol.

'At no time was the public or Congressional community in any danger,' a police spokeswoman said.

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