U.S. terror suspect planned mall attack: police

U.S. authorities have arrested a Massachusetts man on conspiracy to provide material support to terrorist charges, and allege he and colleagues planned attacks in the United States and abroad, including an assault on a shopping mall.

Tarek Mehanna, 27, from the Boston suburb of Sudbury, was arrested on Wednesday, U.S. Justice Department officials said.

According to documents filed in court, Mehanna and two associates pursued a number of plans to target attacks inside and outside the United States, including travelling to the Mideast to seek "terrorist training," making efforts to obtain automatic weapons and discussing an attack on a shopping mall.

The documents also claim one of Mehanna's alleged co-conspirators went so far as to travel to New Hampshire to meet gang contacts in an effort to secure automatic weapons for a mall assault, but that the plan was abandoned because they could not obtain the weapons.

"Mehanna and the co-conspirators had multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in a shopping mall, and that the conversations went so far as to discuss the logistics of a mall attack, including co-ordination, weapons needed and the possibility of attacking emergency responders," the Justice Department said.

Mehanna and his associates are also alleged to have attempted to join Islamic militants in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and receive training from the Taliban.

Mehanna was previously arrested in November 2008 on suspicion of lying to authorities about the whereabouts of a man who trained with al-Qaeda members with the goal of overthrowing the Somali government.