London, July 21 (ANI): An American supporter of terrorist group Al-Qaeda has pleaded guilty to trying to blow up the Pentagon and Capitol Hill with explosives-laden remote-controlled model planes.
US citizen Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, who was arrested after a sting operation, in which federal officers posed as al-Qaeda members to supply explosives, may face a 17-year jail term.
According to prosecutors, Ferdaus, who had been planning "jihad" since 2010, pleaded guilty to two charges: attempting to supply materials to Al-Qaeda, and seeking to damage US government buildings with explosives.
Ferdaus, who was born in Massachusetts to parents of Bangladeshi descent, and is a physics graduate of Northeastern University in Boston, was arrested in the city last September after an elaborate undercover investigation by the FBI lasting several months, officials have said.
According to the BBC, Ferdaus began planning "jihad" against the United States in 2010 after jihadist websites and videos convinced him the United States was evil.
He described the Pentagon as "the head and heart of the snake" and said he was targeting the "enemies of Allah", according to an affidavit released by the US Justice Department at the time of his arrest.
Rezwan is also said to have obtained a remote-controlled plane up to 2m (7ft) in length that could be guided by GPS and fly at 100mph (160km/h).
The prosecution claimed that Ferdaus had also plotted to target US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan using improvised explosive devices.
In 2011, he allegedly supplied the FBI operatives with 12 mobile phone detonators intended to be used by Al-Qaeda operatives to set off bombs in the Middle East, the report said. (ANI)
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