Pakistani man charged with plotting terrorist attack against Jews in New York on Oct 7 anniversary

The US Department of Justice has charged a Pakistani national with allegedly plotting to attack Jews in New York on the anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks in Israel, media reported.

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was going to carry out the attack in support of ISIS, prosecutors allege, and told an undercover agent he wanted to target New York because it has the "largest Jewish population in America", CNN reported.

Khan is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation. He was arrested on Wednesday in Canada. The charges were unsealed on Friday.

"The defendant was allegedly determined to kill Jewish people here in the United States, nearly one year after Hamas' horrific attack on Israel. This investigation was led by the FBI, and I am proud of the terrific work by the FBI team and our partners to disrupt Khan's plan," FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

"The FBI will continue to work closely with our partners to investigate and hold accountable those who seek to commit violence in the name of ISIS or other terrorist organizations. Fighting terrorism remains the FBI's top priority," Wray added.

"The defendant is alleged to have planned a terrorist attack in New York City around October 7 of this year with the stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, adding that "Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack".

In November 2023, Khan, who lives in Canada, began allegedly discussing his support for ISIS on an encrypted messaging application with two people who, unknown to him, were undercover law enforcement officers, CNN reported.

Khan told the officers that he was trying to create "a real offline cell" of ISIS that would target Jewish institutions around an unnamed city, according to court documents, and instructed the officers to buy firearms for those attacks.

Khan allegedly told the officers that he wanted to carry out the attacks on either October 7 or 11, because "October 7 they will surely have some protests and October 11 is yom.kippur," a major Jewish holiday.

By August of this year, prosecutors allege, Khan decided that he wanted to carry out the attacks at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn.

It is easy to "target jews" in New York because of the large Jewish population, he allegedly told the undercover officers, adding that "even if we don't attack an Event, we could rack up easily a lot of Jews". Once he decided on the location of the attack, Khan allegedly paid a human smuggler to help him cross the border into the US.

On September 4, Khan allegedly used three separate cars as he tried to cross Canada and enter the US. He was stopped nearly 12 miles from the US-Canada border, according to the Justice Department.

The Pakistani national is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Israel Defense Forces on October 7 last year declared a state of readiness for war following a massive barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip and infiltration of Hamas terrorists into Israel, and the war is on ever since.