Pakistani Doctor Arrested In US On Terrorism Charge

MINNESOTA (United States): A Pakistani doctor has been arrested in the U.S. state of Minnesota on a terrorism charge, after he told paid FBI informants that he had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group and wanted to carry out lone-wolf attacks in the United States, prosecutors say.

Muhammad Masood, 28, a former research coordinator at the prestigious Mayo Clinic, was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on March 19 by FBI agents and was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

However, Mayo Clinic spokeswoman Ginger Plumbo said Masood formerly worked at the medical centre but “was not employed by Mayo Clinic at the time of his arrest.”

Prosecutors say Masood was in the United States on a work visa. They allege that starting in January, Masood made several statements to paid informants — whom he believed were members of Islamic State — pledging his allegiance to the group.

Masood also allegedly voiced his desire to travel to Syria to fight for IS and a desire to carry out lone-wolf attacks in the United States.

He currently lives in the U.S. and has been residing in the U.S. for around two years. He holds an H-1B U.S. Visa and a Pakistani passport.

Prosecutors say Masoud bought a plane ticket on February 21 to travel from Chicago to Amman, Jordan, and then planned to go to Syria from there. He had planned to leave at the end of March. But on March 16, he had to change his travel plans because Jordan closed its borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Masoud and one of the informants then developed a plan for him to fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to meet with that informant, whom Masoud believed would help him travel in a cargo ship into Daesh territory.

According to an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint, Masoud said in February that he was going to notify his employer that his last day of work would be March 17.

The affidavit said the FBI began investigating in January, after learning that someone, later determined to be Masoud, had posted messages on an encrypted social media platform indicating an intent to support Daesh.

On Jan. 24, Masoud contacted one of the informants on the encrypted platform and said he was a medical doctor with a Pakistani passport and wanted to travel to Syria, Iraq or the northern region of Iran stretching to Afghanistan “to fight on the frontline as well as help the wounded brothers,” the affidavit said.

from League of India