Feds Nab Man in Tampa Bomb Plot

US citizen from Yugoslavia suspected extremist
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2012 11:55 AM CST
Feds Nab Sami Osmakac in Tampa Bomb Plot
Sami Osmakac, 25, from the former Yugoslavia, has been charged, federal authorities said Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 with an alleged plot to attack crowded locations in the Tampa area.   (AP Photo/Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)

Federal agents have arrested a suspected Islamic extremist who allegedly planned to attack Tampa hotspots. Sami Osmakac, 25, a naturalized US citizen from the former Yugoslavia, allegedly plotted attacks using explosives and an assault rifle, the AP reports. Osmakac was reportedly caught buying weapons from an undercover agent; he's due in court today on a charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

A federal complaint says Osmakac "discussed and identified potential targets in Tampa" with a source. That source referred him to an undercover FBI agent to purchase weapons, including an AK-47, Uzi submachine guns, an explosive belt, and grenades. He also planned to use a car bomb and take hostages, the complaint says, noting that he made a video explaining his reasons for the plot. When the source suggested he could change his plans, he reportedly said, "'We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?'" (More Islamic extremists stories.)

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