Authorities say a Virginia man took surveillance footage of three Metro stations in Arlington and passed the images to federal investigators posing as al Qaeda operatives as part of a sting operation to designed to disrupt attacks authorities say the man was planning.
Farooque Ahmed was taken into custody Wednesday on charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The indictment, unsealed in Alexandria’s federal court, says he was preparing a plan to cause the highest number of casualties with the goal of targeting as many military personnel on the Metro system as possible.
According to the indictment, Ahmed first met with an undercover federal investigator posing as an al-Qaeda operative in April at a hotel near Dulles International Airport. Over the summer, Ahmed took surveillance footage of Arlington Cemetery Metro station, as well as the stations at Courthouse and Pentagon City. He also reportedly suggested a fourth attack on the Crystal City station.
Authorities say Ahmed suggested that rolling suitcases, rather than backpacks, be packed with bombs to be exploded between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. to cause the most casualties in simultaneous attacks on the Metro system planned for 2011.
The indictment said Ahmed was planning to travel overseas to conduct jihad in January 2011 after he completed a Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia this November.
