Convicted IS-inspired NYC terror plotter gets 50 more years in prison for stabbing US prison guards

A Canadian man serving a 40-year sentence for plotting terrorist attacks in New York City has been sentenced to another 50 years in prison after stabbing two correctional officers at a federal prison in Pennsylvania, leaving one permanently without his right eye.Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 28, was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to charges arising from the December 2020 attack at the US Penitentiary Allenwood, according to US Department of Justice. The additional term will run consecutively to his existing sentence, bringing his combined prison term to 90 years.Investigators said Bahnasawy attacked two officers on December 7 that year, using a weapon fashioned from part of a steel desk in his cell. He stabbed one officer in the head and face before attacking a second officer who came to help, injuring her hand. The first officer later lost his right eye as a result of the assault.A note found in Bahnasawy’s sock after he was restrained read: “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State.” Authorities also found a pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, commonly known as ISIS, taped inside a locker door in his cell.Assistant Attorney General John A Eisenberg said Bahnasawy had carried out the prison attack in the name of ISIS despite already serving time for an earlier terror conspiracy.“Today’s sentence will further ensure that Bahnasawy remains in prison, where he can do much less harm, for a very long time,” Eisenberg said.US Attorney Brian D Miller for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said the sentence reflected the government’s commitment to prosecuting people who commit violence on behalf of ISIS, including those who act from inside prison.FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Jarod Brown said the two officers survived the attack and stressed that violence motivated by ISIS or other foreign terrorist organisations would not be tolerated.Bahnasawy pleaded guilty in November last year to multiple charges, including assault, assault with intent to commit murder, possessing contraband in prison and providing material support to ISIS, which is designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States.His original 40-year sentence stemmed from a plan to carry out mass-casualty attacks in New York City in 2016. Bahnasawy, then 20, worked with Talha Haroon and Russell Salic on a conspiracy involving bombings and shootings in crowded areas during Ramadan, according to prosecutors.The FBI disrupted the plan after an undercover agent posed as an ISIS supporter willing to participate in the attacks. Bahnasawy was arrested in May 2016 after travelling from Canada to the New York City area in preparation for the planned operation. He has remained in custody since then.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.