Feds: Somali Teen Tried to Bomb Oregon Tree Lighting

(Nov. 27) -- Police in Oregon have arrested a Somali teenager for allegedly trying to detonate a car bomb in a crowd of revelers at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown Portland.

Agents swooped in to nab 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen, just after he dialed a mobile phone Friday evening that he allegedly believed would detonate a van packed with explosives. But the bomb was a fake, planted by undercover agents in a sophisticated sting operation that began back in June.

The FBI began their investigation into Mohamud, who attended Oregon State University, after receiving information about the teenager from a source who was worried about him, an official told The Associated Press.

Mohamud yelled "Allahu Akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is Great!" -- and kicked at federal agents as they arrested him, The Associated Press quoted prosecutors as saying. He's been charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and is expected to appear in federal court in Portland on Monday.

While the bomb was fake, "the threat was very real," senior FBI agent Arthur Balizan told Reuters. "Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale."

The annual Christmas tree lighting in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square draws hundreds of families with small children. Before the planned attack, undercover FBI agents questioned Mohamud about his would-be victims.

"You know there are gonna be a lot of children there?" an undercover agent asked him, according to court documents excerpted by The Oregonian newspaper.

Mohamud allegedly responded that he intentionally wanted to target a "huge mass that will ... be attacked in their own element with their families celebrating the holidays," CNN reported.

He was arrested at 5:42 p.m. Friday -- 18 minutes before Portland's Christmas tree lit up to the cheers of many children, without incident.

An FBI affidavit excerpted by Reuters quoted Mohamud as saying: "I want whoever is attending that event (in Portland) to leave, to leave either dead or injured."

The teenager faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Court documents show that back in June, federal agents learned that Mohamud had been in contact with associates in Pakistan, seeking information or help on how to participate in jihad, or Islamic holy war. In July, undercover agents met with the Somali teen, who allegedly told them he wanted to become "operational."

"Asked what he meant by 'operational,' Mohamud stated that he wanted to put an 'explosion' together, but needed help," CNN quoted the Justice Department as saying. In August, he suggested a target: Portland's Christmas tree lighting.

The documents quote Mohamud as telling agents that it might be easier to carry out a terror attack in Oregon than in New York, for instance, where security might be tighter. "It's in Oregon, and Oregon like you know, nobody ever thinks about it," he allegedly said.

"This defendant's chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people -- even here in Oregon -- who are determined to kill Americans," U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton told The Oregonian.