FBI gives details on Boston terror suspect

BOSTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A suspect in an alleged terror plot to kill mall shoppers was raised in Boston and is the son of a former Boston doctor and Muslim leader, the FBI said.

In an affidavit filed in federal court, the FBI named Ahmad Abousamra as a conspirator with Tarek Mehanna, who was arrested by the FBI and charged with providing support to terrorists, the Boston Globe reported Friday. Abousamra allegedly fled to Syria in 2006 after the FBI questioned him.

Abousamra, 28, is the son of Dr. Abdul Abousamra, who was on staff at Massachusetts General Hospital for more than 20 years, and president of the Islamic Center of New England. Dr. Abousamra moved to Detroit two years ago.

Abousamra and Mehanna were childhood friends, a person who knew both men said.

"They knew each other from when they were young," he said. Asking not to be identified because the case is sensitive, he said Abousamra and Mehanna first met while attending a mosque in Sharon, Mass., run by the Islamic Center of New England.