US arrests Saudi bomb plotter

By Raja Zahid Khanzada
WASHINGTON: A Saudi college student living in Texas has been arrested for allegedly attempting to make bombs for possible use on a series of US targets including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush, the Department of Justice said overnight.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a Saudi national and a student at South Plains College in Lubbock, was arrested late Wednesday, local time, and faces charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Aldawarsi, who was legally admitted to the US in 2008 on a student visa, allegedly spent time doing online research about how to make a chemical-based improvised explosive device (IED), according to the affidavit unsealed in the Northern District of Texas.

Some of his research indicated that Aldawarsi contemplated using dolls to conceal explosives and possible plans to carry a backpack full of explosives into a nightclub.

A search of Aldawarsi's Lubbock apartment uncovered items including a hazmat suit, wiring, a clock, and sulfuric and nitric acids, authorities alleged.

Investigators also uncovered a notebook that indicated Aldawarsi had a long-held desire to execute a terror attack within the US.

An excerpt from the purported diary showed Aldawarsi's desire to target Americans.

"And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad," it read in part.

Aldawarsi allegedly sent a series of emails to himself that contained lists of possible targets including nuclear power plants, hydroelectric dams, and the names of 12 reservoir dams in California and Colorado, the Justice Department said.

One email with the subject line "Tyrant's House" contained the Dallas address of former President George W. Bush.

Following the arrest, a representative for South Plains College, where Aldawarsi enrolled in January as a transfer student, said there was no threat to the campus.

If convicted, Aldawarsi faces a maximum of life in prison and a US$250,000 fine.

He is expected to make his first federal court appearance in Lubbock, Texas, today.