Terrorism

A 19-year-old from East Elmhurst was arrested by FBI agents for allegedly planning a terrorist attack with a knife in Queens.

NEW YORK (AP) — Two women caught in a 2015 terrorism sting involving an undercover New York Police Department officer posing as an Islamic convert pleaded guilty on Friday to charges they studied how to make bombs for a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

The “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign has been drilled into the heads of Americans, especially New Yorkers ever since 9/11.

A 20-year-old New Jersey man sought to aid the Islamic militant group Hamas and threatened to "shoot everybody" at an unspecified pro-Israel demonstration, federal authorities said Wednesday.

After nearly a decade of helping federal authorities fight terrorism, the ringleader of a thwarted plot to bomb the New York City subway system was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison.

A total of nine bombings on Easter Sunday killed at least 290 people and wounded about 500 more in Sri Lanka. Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardena, who described the blasts as a terrorist attack by religious extremists, told reporters Sunday evening that seven suspects had been arrested, though no one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for an attack at an upscale hotel complex in Kenya's capital on Tuesday that left an unconfirmed number of people dead. Authorities continued to search buildings hours after the assault began.

The NYPD increased manpower at the Greenwich Village Halloween parade after last year's holiday was marred by a deadly truck attack. Thousands of uniformed and plainclothes officers are patrolling Wednesday's parade along 6th Avenue, police said. Counter-terrorism units, police dogs, and helicopters are in place, too.

The FBI busted up an Election Day terror plot, according to the U.S. attorney. A man from Rockland County is accused of planning to set off a bomb in D.C. just as voters headed to the polls. Paul Rosenfeld admitted to building a bomb that he planned to detonate on the National Mall, according to the criminal complaint.

Millions of people attend fall and winter special events in New York City—everyone from tourists and New Yorkers to international heads of state. The bulk of the planning for protection falls right on the NYPD. Fox 5 got an exclusive look into the NYPD's Joint Operations Center.

Victims' families, survivors, first responders and others marked the bombing's 25th anniversary on what is now the Sept. 11 memorial plaza. They observed a silent moment, read victims' names, laid roses on the memorial and reflected on an explosion that became a telling signal of terrorists' aims.

A man who set off small bombs in two states, including a pressure cooker device that blasted shrapnel across a New York City block, was sentenced Tuesday to multiple terms of life in prison. Ahmad Khan Rahimi, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Afghanistan and lived in New Jersey, injured 30 people when one of his bombs exploded in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood on a September night in 2016. A second bomb planted nearby did not detonate.

At a pretrial hearing in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, Sayfullo Saipov sat before Judge Vernon Broderick listening to the proceedings via an Uzbek translator on headphones. His defense team asked that his visitor log in federal prison remain private, but the judge said that due to national security an independent person from the U.S. Attorney's Office would have to approve all visitors.

In handcuffs, terror suspect Akayed Ullah walked into federal court in Manhattan Thursday. A grand jury has indicted Ullah for allegedly detonating a pipe bomb in December in a busy subway walkway connecting the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Times Square. The judge asked Ullah if he had seen the six-count indictment and had the opportunity to speak with his lawyers about it. He answered, "Yes." When asked for his plea, Ullah responded, "At this moment, not guilty."

Safety barriers known as bollards are intended to stop vehicle terror attacks. New York City intends to install hundreds of them around town in a direct response to the deadly truck attack in lower Manhattan last Halloween.

Following the recent terror attacks in Manhattan and mass shooting in Las Vegas, the NYPD is not taking any chances this New Year's Eve. No specific or credible threats have been made to New York City, but the NYPD knows that Times Square on New Year's Eve could be a target for terrorists. That is why security will be unprecedented Sunday night.

Less than two months ago, a gunman opened fire at a Texas church, stealing the lives of 25 people. In New York, the NYPD is not taking any chances. Police say there is no credible threat to New York City. Still, heavy weapons units will fan out across the five boroughs to provide security for Christmas church services at houses of worship.

Akayed Ullah couldn't physically appear in federal court on Wednesday because of his injuries from the explosion he is accused of setting off. Instead, he appeared via video. He looked straight into the camera and answered "yes" to the judge's questions. He lay in his hospital bed with his head propped up by a pillow and sheets and blankets covering his burned body.

A Bangladeshi immigrant arrested in a New York subway bombing blamed President Donald Trump for the botched suicide mission that he said he carried out for the Islamic State group, authorities said as they brought federal charges against him Tuesday.