Prosecutors claim that the suspects who allegedly set off a bomb outside the home of the mayor of New York City wanted to kill sixty people.

 

Video shows suspect in foiled attack near Mamdani's NYC residence(Image: BBC)

Two men accused of trying to bomb a protest outside the New York City mayor's home wanted to kill up to 60 people in the name of the Islamic State group (IS), federal prosecutors allege.

 The charges against Emir Balat, an 18-year-old, and Ibrahim Kayumi, a 19-year-old, are outlined in an indictment that was released on Tuesday. "All I know is I want to start terror, bro," one of the men allegedly said in a recorded dashcam video.  "I want to scare these people to death," The two are accused of attempting to set off two explosives outside of Gracie Mansion, the mayor Zohran Mamdani's official residence. The incident on March 7 occurred during a demonstration against Islam, and none of the explosives went off as intended. The men, according to the police, wanted the March attack to be "even larger" than the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon, which killed three people. Authorities say they found a notebook and three days' worth of dashcam video and audio in the vehicle that the pair, both US citizens from Pennsylvania, used.  A third bomb, according to authorities, was found in the car. The notebook included a list of the materials needed to assemble and subsequently detonate a homemade bomb, according to the indictment.

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 The notebook also included details of alternative plans for an attack, including using a vehicle to target a festival, parade, protest or celebration, according to the court document.

The dashcam caught Balat and Kayumi driving for hours and talking about their alleged plans. According to the indictment, the conversation recorded by the dashcam shows Balat saying that they were going to kill "about 8 to 16 people," or as many as 30 to 60 people if the area where the bombs were detonated was crowded.

 Mamdani says suspects in explosives incident traveled to NYC to 'commit an act of terrorism' (Image: BBC)

Balat and Kayumi both waived their constitutional rights to remain silent after their arrest, according to court documents.

 After his arrest Balat requested a piece of paper and wrote on it that he pledges allegiance to IS and called for death of nonbelievers or infidels, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the BBC.

 Kayumi stated that he was affiliated with IS, watched IS propaganda on his phone and was partly inspired to carry out his actions that day by IS, court records said.

 Footage of the incident shows one of the suspects being detained just seconds after an explosive is ignited, which did not detonate.  No one was injured.

 Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji were not home at the time.

Source: BBC