Attempted New York terrorist attack unfolded under FBI supervision

A Bangladeshi man was accused Wednesday of attempting to blow up New York’s Federal Reserve Bank.

Quazi Mohammad Ahsan Nafis, 21, appeared in court and was charged with trying to detonate what he thought was a van full of explosives. Nafis came to the United States back in January on a student visa, with the intention of committing an act of terrorism, law enforcement officials say.

But there are a few unusual things about this case.

For instance, typically an FBI informer will reach out to someone who is suspected of plotting a terrorist attack, and attempt to build a relationship with them in order to learn more about their plans. 

But, in this case, according to Bob Hennelly, an editor for WNYC in New York City, the alleged terrorist actually approached the FBI informat himself.

“It appears, if the criminal complaint is accurate, that Nafis actually approached the FBI asset,” Hennelly said.

Nafis was using Facebook and Twitter to recruit people to help him, and this was how he, unknowingly, came into contact with an FBI informer.  

“What is a little more nuanced here, on the government’s part is, apparently there was a push back in the conversation the federal assets had with him,” Hennelly said. They raised the question, “is it against Islamic law to come into a country where you’ve been welcomed as a student under false pretenses?”

It appears Nafis contacted someone back in Bangladesh and received permission to continue.

According to The New York Times, Nafis intended to blow up a 1,000-pound bomb in a truck outside the bank, in Lower Manhattan.

In court papers, law enforcement officials called Nafis determined and, according to the Times, someone who was looking for respect from al-Qaeda leaders.

Hennelly thinks it’s possible that, because Nafis came to the United States on a student visa, there will be new questions about the kind of vetting that is done in the student visa process.

“For instance, did they take attendance?” he asked.

The school through which Nafis obtained his visa, Southeast Missouri State University, is in Cape Girardeau, Mo., but he was obviously not in class there.