This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25374371
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
US man held over Kansas 'suicide bomb plot' | US man held over Kansas 'suicide bomb plot' |
(35 minutes later) | |
A man has been arrested in the US state of Kansas and accused of planning to detonate a suicide car bomb at an airport, authorities have said. | A man has been arrested in the US state of Kansas and accused of planning to detonate a suicide car bomb at an airport, authorities have said. |
Terry Lee Loewen, 58, has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. | Terry Lee Loewen, 58, has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. |
Mr Loewen, an aviation technician, does not appear to have been affiliated with any religious group, police said. | |
Authorities said Mr Loewen was snared by undercover FBI investigators and the public was never in danger. | |
"There was no breach of Mid-Continent's Airport's security," said Kansas US Attorney Barry Grissom in a statement. | |
"At no time was the safety of travellers or members of the public placed in jeopardy." | |
'Good guys won' | |
Mr Loewen was charged in federal court on Friday with attempting to detonate a car bomb at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. | |
He has also been charged with attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation. | |
If convicted, Mr Loewen could face a sentence of life in prison. | |
Authorities arrested Mr Loewen on Friday morning after he attempted to enter the airport tarmac and drive a vehicle loaded with what he believed were high explosives, authorities said. | |
The US justice department said he spent months developing a plan to use his access card to carry out the plan. | |
"He planned to pull the trigger on the explosives himself and die in the explosion," the department said in a statement. | |
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback thanks the law enforcement authorities who captured Mr Loewen. | |
"In our ongoing war on terrorism, the good guys won one today," he said. |