A man suspected of being an operative in New York for the terrorist group Hezbollah was recently arrested.
Alexei Saab, 42, of Morristown, NJ, has been in federal custody in the US since July, facing charges for scouting dozens of targets for the terrorist entity, including the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and the George Washington Bridge.
According to the Justice Department, he also traveled to Istanbul more than a decade ago and tried to kill a person he believed to be an Israeli spy.
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He is also accused of scouting and taking pictures of possible targets for Hezbollah's external terrorism arm.
In addition to New York, Saab allegedly scouted places in Boston and Washington, D.C.
"In particular, (Saab) focused on the structural weaknesses of locations he surveilled in order to determine how a future attack could cause the most destruction," said the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan.
Saab became a naturalized American citizen in 2008, even though, according to the US government, he has been a Hezbollah member since 1996 and has an extensive background in making explosives. He began training with Hezbollah in 1999.
"Even though Saab was a naturalized American citizen, his true allegiance was to Hezbollah, the terrorist organization responsible for decades of terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds, including US citizens and military personnel," Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said. "Thankfully, Saab is now in federal custody and faces significant prison time for his alleged crimes."
Saab is also accused of immigration fraud, marrying an individual so that other person could apply for naturalized citizenship in the United States based on their marriage.
If convicted, Saab faces up to 105 years in prison.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
