A Massachusetts man was arrested by federal authorities Wednesday on suspicion of planning an attack on the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol with remote-controlled airplanes loaded with explosives.

Rezwan Ferdaus, a Northeastern University graduate with a degree in physics, believed he had been working with al-Qaida representatives when he had been working with and closely monitored by undercover FBI agents for at least a year.

The Justice Department also accused Ferdaus of attempting to provide resources to al-Qaida for attacks on American soldiers overseas. –BF

Dow Jones via the Morning Star:

Federal authorities said the public was never in danger because undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were monitoring Mr. Ferdaus as the investigation evolved. In early 2010, FBI agents posing as members of or recruiters for al Qaeda received phones from Mr. Ferdaus that he had modified to trigger improvised explosive devices, according to the government.

Mr. Ferdaus believed the devices would be used to kill American soldiers overseas, the Justice Department said. During a June 2011 meeting, he appeared gratified when he was told his first phone detonation device had killed three U.S. soldiers and injured four or five others in Iraq, the Justice Department said. Mr. Ferdaus responded, “That was exactly what I wanted,” according to government documents.

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