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Florida man accused of Islamic State-inspired attack at beach

By Danielle Haynes

KEY WEST, Fla., July 28 (UPI) -- Law enforcement officials arrested a 23-year-old man accused of an Islamic State-inspired plot to bury a bomb in the sand at a Florida beach and remotely detonate it, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

An FBI complaint said Harlem Suarez -- also identified as Almlak Benitez -- allegedly conspired with undercover FBI agents to build a "weapon of mass destruction," and hide it in a backpack on the beach in either Marathon or South Beach, Fla., or both.

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Suarez allegedly said he wanted to cause mass casualties on behalf of IS -- also identified as Daesh or by the acronyms ISIS and ISIL. He discussed possibly creating a car bomb, or placing bombs on police vehicles or in hotels, saying "they would know that, you know, it's coming from Islamic State."

At one point Suarez allegedly said one day he would cook Americans in cages, apparently making a reference to IS videos of hostages being burned alive in cages.

FBI agents met with Suarez on Monday at which time he allegedly took possession of an inert explosive device the undercover agents said they built for his plan. Law enforcement officials arrested Suarez, who faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against a person or property in the United States.

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"Stopping attacks on our homeland by those inspired or directed by designated foreign terrorist organizations is the highest priority of the National Security Division," said Assistant Attorney General John Carlin.

The complaint said the FBI was tipped off to Suarez's intentions after receiving a information from a person who said Suarez requested to be their friend on Facebook. Suarez allegedly attempted to recruit the tipster for his plot.

"There is no room for failure when it comes to investigating the potential use of a weapon of mass destruction," said FBI Special Agent in Charge George Piro. "The FBI and our local, state and federal partners work around the clock to prevent such catastrophic weapons from being used against our citizens.  Even so, we ask the public to be vigilant and report suspicious activity to law enforcement."

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