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Summary A 29-year-old Moroccan man was arrested near U.S. Capitol.
He was allegedly planning to detonate what he thought was a suicide vest, given to him by FBI undercover operatives, said police and government officials.Amine El Khalifi of Alexandria, Virginia, was taken into custody with an inoperable firearm and inert explosives, according to a counterterror official.El Khalifi made a brief appearance in federal court in Alexandria, wearing a green shirt and black pants and holding his arms together behind his back. A judge set a bail hearing in his case for Wednesday.A criminal complaint charges him with knowingly and unlawfully attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States.El Khalifi expressed interest in killing at least 30 people and considered targeting a building in Alexandria and a restaurant, synagogue and a place where military personnel gather in Washington before he settled on the Capitol after canvassing that area a couple of times, the counterterrorism official said.During the investigation, the official said, El Khalifi went with undercover operatives to a quarry in the Washington area to detonate explosives.El Khalifi came to the U.S. when he was 16 years old and is unemployed and not believed to be associated with the al-Qaida terror organization. He had been under investigation for about a year and had overstayed his visitor visa for years, according to the counterterror official and a government official briefed on the matter who spoke on a condition of anonymity because the investigation is under way.A former landlord in Arlington said he believed El Khalifi was suspicious and called police 18 months ago.--AP
