Man Accused of Scouting NYC Locations for Terror Attack

WABC

A New Jersey man is accused of attempting to plan a terrorist attack in New York City in the name of Islamist militant group Hezbollah.

Police said Alexei Saab, of Morristown, has been indicted in federal court for scouting locations in the city and sending information back to Lebanon, according to federal documents to be unsealed Thursday.

Saab was arrested on July 9 but the case was recently unsealed.

Officials said while living in the United States, Saab surveilled dozens of iconic New York City locations, including the United Nations headquarters, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Empire State Building, and local airports, tunnels, and bridges — and provided detailed information on these locations, including photographs, to the Islamic Jihad Organization, a component of Hezbollah.

Saab joined the terrorist organization in 1996, according to the documents, and received extensive training in weapons and military tactics, including how to construct and detonate bombs.

He legally entered the United States in 2000 with a Lebanese passport, and in 2008, became a naturalized citizen.