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Feds: Man planned terrorism attacks in Tampa
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The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office operations center in Ybor City was among the targets considered, authorities said.
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Sami Osmakac
By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune
Published: January 09, 2012
Updated: January 09, 2012 - 12:17 PM
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TAMPA --
Federal agents over the weekend arrested a Pinellas Park man described as having extremist jihadist beliefs who wanted to blow up a target in Tampa and create "terror" in victims' hearts.
"I want to do something terrifying," he said, according to a federal complaint, "like one day, one night, something's going to happen. Then six hours later, something else."
Sami Osmakac, 25, was taken into custody after an FBI sting operation in which he tried to buy explosives, at least 10 grenades, Uzis and an AK-47, authorities said.
He was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
On New Year's Day, according to the complaint, he was given the chance to back out of the plot. But he declined, saying,
"We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?"Osmakac's intended target shifted over the course of the investigation, which spanned several months, at times involving government buildings, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office operations center in Ybor City and, ultimately, a pub in South Tampa, apparently MacDinton's, authorities said.
In discussing a possible Ybor City attack, Osmakac told an undercover agent he wanted to detonate a car bomb near a nightclub on a night when there would be a lot of people in the area, according to the complaint.
"I know a lot of places where it gets real crowded," he is quoted as saying.
He also told the agent he wanted to "take down buildings" and "kill people inside," the complaint states.
After setting off a car bomb, Osmakac planned a second phase of the attack in which he would take hostages and make demands of the FBI, according to the complaint.
The arrest came about, in part, because of assistance from the Muslim community, said U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill, who expressed his thanks in a news release.
O'Neill and Tampa's FBI chief, Steven E. Ibison, met with local Muslim leaders this morning to discuss the arrest, according to Hassan Shibly, executive director of the local office of the Council on American Islamic Relations.
Authorities wanted to thank the Muslim community for its help and assured it that Osmakac was considered a "lone wolf," Shibly said.
Shibly said Osmakac was banned from two local mosques, and local Muslims were so concerned about his extremist views that they reported him to law enforcement. His views were so extreme, Shibly said, that there were fears he might be mentally unbalanced.
Osmakac "had absolutely no support in the local Muslim community," Shibly said.
If the allegations are true, Shibly said, he wanted to thank the FBI for preventing a violent attack. However, he also cautioned that he wanted to make sure the plan was something initiated by Osmakac and not something urged on by law enforcement to make an arrest.
"If he was instigated by the government, we're going to be very concerned about that," Shibly said.
The sting culminated at a Tampa hotel Saturday night after Osmakac had the person from whom he was purchasing the explosives – unknown to him, an undercover agent – film him making a video explaining his reasoning for the planned attack, according to the complaint.
In the eight-minute video, Osmakac is seen cross-legged on the floor with a pistol in his hand and an AK-47 behind him. In it, according to the complaint, he states that Muslim blood is more valuable than that of people who do not believe in Islam. He says he wants "payback" for wrong that was done to Muslims.
Osmakac, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the former Yugoslavia, came to authorities' attention in September when he contacted a store owner and asked for flags representing al-Qaida, according to a federal complaint. Osmakac began working for the owner as a laborer. The store owner contacted the FBI, which initiated an undercover investigation.
Although the informant initially refused to allow agents to record conversations, he or she ultimately participated in recorded meetings with Osmakac, the complaint states.
In one recorded meeting in November, Osmakac drove around Tampa with the informant and talked about carrying out a violent attack, according to the complaint.
The informant told Osmakac he or she could introduce him to someone to provide Osmakac with firearms and explosives. The informant then introduced Osmakac to the undercover agent, according to a federal complaint.
In addition to a car loaded with explosives, Osmakac expressed an interest in a belt loaded with explosives, which he could set off if someone tried to arrest him, authorities said.
Osmakac is scheduled to appear in federal court this afternoon to hear the charges against him.
Topic: Mooslim held in plan to bomb Tampa area sites... wanted to die the Islamic Way. (Read 1610 times)