'Would be largest attack since 9/11 ... ': Pak national arrested for planning attack on Jews in US

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a 20-year-old Pakistani national living in Canada, has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a terrorist attack against Jews in New York City.

The attack was allegedly planned to coincide with the October 7 anniversary of Hamas' assault on Israel.

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a press release on Friday that Khan, an alleged ISIS supporter, intended to carry out the attack with the "goal of slaughtering, in the name of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), as many Jewish people as possible."

Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was taken into custody on Wednesday in Ormstown, a town situated approximately 60 km south of Montreal and roughly 20 km from the US-Canada border. The arrest was made in relation to a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, charging Khan with attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS. If found guilty, he could face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

According to the complaint, Khan attempted to travel from Canada to New York City, where he planned to use automatic and semi-automatic weapons to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn, New York, in support of ISIS.

Khan's support for ISIS allegedly began in or around November of the previous year, when he started posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging application, distributing ISIS propaganda videos and literature. In one of the messages, he stated, "If we succeed with our plan, this would be the largest attack on US soil since 9/11," according to news agency PTI.

As part of his plan for the attack, Khan attempted to reach the US-Canada border around September 4. He used three separate vehicles to travel across Canada towards the US before being apprehended in or near Ormstown.