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Mass. Terror Suspect an 'Incompetent Wannabe'

Mehanna and accomplice were turned away from training in Yemen, Pakistan

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 22, 2009 12:56 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Massachusetts man arrested yesterday for plotting to shoot up a mall, kill US troops fighting overseas, and assassinate US officials didn’t really have a chance. Tarek Mehanna traveled to Yemen in search of terrorism training but couldn't find a camp. His alleged accomplice was turned away from Pakistani terror group Lashkar e Tayyiba for not being Pakistani, and from the Taliban for “lack of experience.”

“The people in Massachusetts were never in any danger,” an FBI agent tells the Boston Herald. Though the plotters were stymied at every turn by lack of access to weapons, training, and support, experts caution against underestimating the threat. Mehanna “may be an incompetent wannabe who expressed some sympathy with radical ideas,” a scholar tells the Boston Globe. “But just because of that, you can’t assume that a more serious act isn’t out there.”

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Tarek Mehanna is seen outside the federal court in Boston. (AP Photo)

This Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009, booking photo released by the Sudbury, Mass., police department shows Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury. (AP Photo)

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks announces that Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, Mass., has been charged with conspiring with others to plot terror attacks. (AP Photo)

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These individuals took the initiative to travel to Yemen to go to a terrorist training camp. You only go to a terrorist training camp to learn to do one thing: to kill US citizens.
- Boston FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Warren T. Bamford

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Mass. Terror Suspect an 'Incompetent Wannabe'