Pakistani accused of planning mass attack on Jews in New York for ISIS extradited to US

A Pakistani national living in Canada, who is accused of plotting to target a Jewish center in Brooklyn on the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7 in support of ISIS, was extradited to the United States on Tuesday.

“This case is a reminder of the constant threat of terrorism facing every corner of the world, as well as the disturbing rise in threats against our Jewish communities,” Kash Patel, FBI director, stated. “Your FBI will continue to be on guard and work around the clock to counter them.”

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was sent by authorities from Canada to the United States to face charges, with an initial hearing scheduled for Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Khan “planned to use automatic weapons to kill as many members of our Jewish community as possible, all in support of ISIS,” stated Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, labeling the plan “antisemitic.”

It’s alleged that Khan, residing in Canada, began posting on social media and in an encrypted messaging application about his support for ISIS.

He ended up in contact with two undercover law enforcement officers and revealed his plan to carry out terror attacks in the United States in support of ISIS, including a specific plan, allegedly with an unnamed U.S.-based associate, to use AR-style assault rifles to target “Israeli Jewish Chabads,” according to court filings.

Eventually, authorities say, Khan changed his target location to a “prominent Jewish religious center in Brooklyn, N.Y.,” with Khan aiming to carry out that attack on or around Oct. 7, 2024 due to its significance as the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s attacks in southern Israel.

Court documents don’t name the Brooklyn location, but Khan’s online messages describe it as “the ultra-Orthodox Chassidic Jews world headquarters.” The world headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch is in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood.

Khan allegedly told the undercover officers that “‘New York is perfect to target Jews,’ because it has the ‘largest Jewish population in America,’ and, as such, ‘even if we don’t attack an event, we could rack up easily a lot of Jews.’”

He urged them to procure assault rifles and hunting knives, per court documents.

Khan was stopped 12 miles from the U.S.-Canadian border in early September, when he used a human smuggler to try to gain entry into the United States.

He is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is also charged with one count of attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

“Muhammad Shahzeb Khan—a supporter of ISIS and fueled by antisemitism—allegedly plotted a terrorist attack that could have slaughtered Jewish New Yorkers simply because of their faith,” stated Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Police Department, who is Jewish.

“This case is a powerful reminder of the ongoing efforts by the NYPD and our law enforcement partners to prevent acts of hate and protect our communities, because bigotry and antisemitism have no place in our city,” Tisch said.

© JNS