US teens reject charges over ISIS-linked bomb plot in New York
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Prosecutors said that Ibrahim Kayumi and Emir Balat, aged 19 and 18, discussed plans to kill up to 60 people.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK – Two US teenagers pleaded not guilty on April 15 to terror charges after they allegedly tried to detonate explosives in New York City in support of the ISIS group.
Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were arrested on March 7 after the attempted attack during an anti-Islam protest outside the official residence of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim.
Prosecutors said the pair, both from Pennsylvania, discussed plans to kill up to 60 people. No one was hurt during the incident.
“All I know is I want to start terror, bro,” Kayumi allegedly told Balat in a conversation recorded on the dashcam of their vehicle.
Appearing handcuffed at a federal court in New York, the pair denied the eight counts against them that include attempted support of a “foreign terrorist organisation” and “use of a weapon of mass destruction”.
Balat and Kayumi each stated their allegiance to the ISIS group after police officers detained them, according to prosecutors.
An AFP correspondent at the scene heard Balat shout “Allahu akbar” (Arabic for “God is the greatest”) during the incident.
The events unfolded after far-right influencer Jake Lang staged an anti-Islam demonstration in New York City that drew around 20 people, while a counter-protest drew about 125.
“These individuals allegedly prepared explosive devices and attempted to detonate them on the streets of New York in the name of ISIS,” Federal Bureau of Investigation director Kash Patel said last week.
A trial preparation hearing was scheduled for June 16. AFP
