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 Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, 23, a naturalized American, had been
instructed by a Muslim cleric to return to the United States and
carry out an act of terrorism, a federal indictment said.
The indictment said Mohamud told an associate that he wanted to go
to a military base in Texas and "kill three or four American
soldiers execution-style."
Mohamud's brother was killed fighting with the Nusra Front, the
Syria-based affiliate of al Qaeda, the indictment said.
Before leaving for Syria, Mohamud had posted material on social
media promoting symbols of the Islamic State militant group, the
indictment said. A law enforcement official said, however, that once
in Syria Mohamud and his brother, Aden, trained with Nusra.
According to the indictment, Mohamud obtained a U.S. passport and
purchased a one-way ticket to Greece. He left the United States in
April 2014 but instead of flying to Greece, went to Istanbul,
Turkey, and then Syria.
 In Syria he sent videos of himself to an unnamed person, the
indictment said. In one video, he pointed to a gun in a holster on
his hip and in another, he stood in front of a white house with a
black flag on it.
Upon his return to the United States, the indictment said, Mohamud
told an unidentified person that while in Syria, he had been trained
in shooting weapons, breaking into houses, using explosives and
hand-to-hand combat.
According to the indictment, Mohamud also said that just before he
was about to start fighting with militants in Syria, a cleric
connected with an unspecified militant group told him he should
return to the United States and "carry out an act of terrorism." A
law enforcement official identified the cleric as a representative
of the Nusra Front.
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According to the indictment, Mohamud "wanted to kill Americans, and
specifically wanted to target armed forces, police officers or any
uniformed individuals." The indictment said Mohamud's plan was to
attack a U.S. military base but that he also had a backup plan to
attack a prison.
The indictment said Mohamud told his unnamed interlocutor that his
brother, Aden, had died and that Mohamud himself "was next and would
join Aden soon.
A U.S. official said Mohamud initially was arrested in February in
Columbus and held by local law enforcement authorities. The official
said Mohamud would be transferred into federal custody on Thursday.
(This story has been refiled to drop Islamic State reference from
headline)
(Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Will Dunham and Bill Trott)
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