Canada extradites Pakistani citizen to US over terror attack plot

Canada has extradited a 20-year-old Pakistani citizen identified as Muhammad Shahzeb Khan alias "Shahzeb Jadoon" to the United States in connection with an indictment filed in the Southern District of New York.

With the extradition taking place on Tuesday, Khan has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to Daesh — a designated foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) — and attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in court later today.

"The foreign terrorist organisation Daesh remains a clear and present danger to the American people, and our Jewish citizens are especially targeted by evil groups like these", said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

"The Department of Justice is proud to help secure this extradition, and we will prosecute this man to the fullest extent of the law," the official added.

Bondi further highlighted that "Khan allegedly tried to enter the US to commit an attack on the Jewish community in New York City, planning a Daesh-inspired mass shooting around the one-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack ", said FBI Director Kash Patel.

"Thankfully, the great work of the FBI and our partners shut that down, and Khan has now been extradited to New York to face American justice. I want to thank our teams and partners for their diligent work in this case and executing the mission," the FBI chief noted.

"As alleged, [Muhammad Shahzeb] Khan attempted to enter the US to carry out a deadly terrorist attack on a Jewish centre in New York City," said US Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York.

"He planned to use automatic weapons to kill as many members of our Jewish community as possible, all in support of Daesh. Khan's deadly, anti-Semitic plan was thwarted by the diligent work of our law enforcement partners and the career prosecutors in this Office who are committed to rooting out antisemitism and stopping terror," claimed Clayton.

Khan was provisionally arrested in Canada on September 4, 2024 based on a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York. As alleged in the complaint, Khan, who resided in Canada, attempted to travel from Canada to New York City, where he intended to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting in support of Daesh at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn, New York.

Khan began posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging application about his support for Daes in or about November 2023, when, among other things, Khan distributed Daesh propaganda videos and literature. Subsequently, Khan began communicating with two undercover law enforcement officers (collectively, the UCs).

During those conversations, Khan confirmed that he and a US-based Daesh supporter (Associate-1) had been planning to carry out an attack in a particular US city (City-1).

Among other things, Khan said that he had been actively attempting to create 'a real offline cell" of Daesh supporters to carry out a "coordinated assault" in City-1 using AR-style rifles.

He also provided details about how he would cross the border from Canada into the United States to conduct the attacks. During these conversations with the UCs, Khan emphasised that "October 7th and Oct 11th are the best days for targeting the Jews" because "October 7 they will surely have some protests and Oct 11 is Yom Kippur".

On or about August 20, Khan changed his target location from City-1 to New York City. After initially suggesting certain neighbourhoods in New York City to the UCs, Khan decided to target Location-1, a Jewish centre located in Brooklyn, New York.

Khan told the UCs that he planned to carry out this attack on or around October 7, 2024 — which Khan recognised as the one-year anniversary of the beginning of ongoing war in the Middle East. 

In support of his choice of New York City as his target location, Khan boasted that "New York is perfect to target Jews" because it has the "largest Jewish population in America" and therefore, "even if we don't attack an event, we could rack up easily a lot of Jews".

Khan proclaimed that "we are going to NYC to slaughter them", and sent a photograph of the specific area inside of Location-1 where he planned to carry out the attack.

Thereafter, Khan continued to urge the UCs to acquire AR-style rifles, ammunition, and other equipment for his attack, including "some good hunting [knives] so we can slit their throats".

Khan repeatedly reiterated his desire to carry out the attack in support of Daesh, and discussed planning for the attack, including identifying rental properties close to Location-1 and paying for a human smuggler to help him reach and cross the border from Canada into the US. 

During one communication, Khan noted that "if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11".

On or around September 4, as Khan said he planned to do in connection with his attack, Khan attempted to reach the US-Canada border. To do so, he used three separate cars to travel across Canada towards the US, before he was stopped by Canadian authorities in or around Ormstown, Canada, approximately 12 miles from the US-Canada border.

Khan is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation and one count of attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.

If convicted, Khan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI’s New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles Field Offices are investigating the case. The Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division accomplished the extradition of Khan from Canada.