Hezbollah Scout Searched For NYC Attack Targets, Feds Say

NEW YORK CITY — An accused Hezbollah member was scouting locations for terrorist attacks in New York City and sending information back to the militant group in Lebanon, according to federal prosecutors.

Alexei Saab, 42, faces terrorism-related charges in Manhattan Federal Court for information he collected about the George Washington Bridge, Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, according to court documents released Thursday.

Saab, of Morristown, New Jersey, was charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and other conspiracy charges, in a 33-page complaint that has been sealed since July 8, prosecutors said.

U.S. Southern District Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman alleges Saab also gathered information on targets in Boston and Washington D.C. for the Islamic Jihad Organization, a terrorist group within Hezbollah.

"Alexei Saab allegedly used his training to scout possible targets throughout the U.S.," Berman said. “Even though Saab was a naturalized American citizen, his true allegiance was to Hizballah, the terrorist organization responsible for decades of terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds, including U.S. citizens and military personnel."

Saab allegedly joined Hezbollah in 1996, came to the United States in 2000 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2008, prosecutors said.

The New Jersey man allegedly attended Hezbollah trainings on how to fire an AK-47, throw grenades, and how to construct and detonate bombs and other explosive devices, said prosecutors.