| Muslim soldier jailed for life for plotting to kill troops |
WACO A Muslim US soldier turned conscientious objector was jailed for life on Friday after being convicted of plotting to kill troops and their families from a military base.
The court had heard that Naser Jason Abdo, 22, planned to attack soldiers and their families from Fort Hood, a sprawling army installation northwest of the Texas state capital, Austin.
Manacled and wearing a mesh cover over his face because he had spat blood on three officers earlier this year, Abdo made a long, rambling statement that ended in a vow to pursue “jihad” for the rest of his life.
“I don’t ask the court for mercy because Allah the Almighty is the one that gives mercy,” he declared.
Abdo was convicted in May of plotting to bomb a popular Chinese restaurant near the base and gun down patrons as they fled, using with a handgun fed by extended ammunition magazines.
At his sentencing, Abdo acted as his own attorney, giving a detailed explanation of how he had turned from an infantryman to jihadist.
Police and FBI agents arrested Abdo in July last year outside a motel a short drive from Fort Hood after being tipped off by a gun store clerk who grew concerned about his behaviour while selling him smokeless gunpowder. When they searched Abdo’s discount hotel room near the base, police found a handgun, enough gunpowder to make at least one bomb and directions culled from an Al Qaeda publication on how to build an explosive device.
Agencies
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