Prosecutors: Syrian man planned ISIS-fueled church bombing

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Federal authorities have arrested a Syrian man they allege planned to bomb a church in Pittsburgh to inspire followers of the Islamic State.

Prosecutors allege that Mustafa Mousab Alowemer planned to bomb an unidentified church on Pittsburgh’s north side, purchasing materials he thought were necessary to make a bomb and providing plans and a map to an undercover FBI agent he thought was a fellow Islamic State supporter.

The 21-year-old Pittsburgh resident is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and two counts of distributing information relating to an explosive device or weapon of mass destruction.

It wasn’t immediately known if he had retained an attorney.

The FBI says Alowemer came to the U.S. as a refugee from Syria in 2016.