U.S. authorities are confident a terrorist plot to bomb a central Ohio shopping mall has been foiled, a top homeland security official said Tuesday. An indictment has accused Somali native Nuradin Abdi of conspiring with an admitted al-Qaida member and others to bomb the mall in the Columbus area. Abdi has been taken into custody in a federal prison in Columbus. On Tuesday morning, Homeland Security Department Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson declined to say how far the plot progressed. But he told NBC’s “Today” show that “overt steps” were taken to support terrorist activities. Hutchinson said federal officials believe the plot has been “completely thwarted” and that no threat remains to shopping malls in Ohio. Like thousands of fellow Somalis who had left behind brutal clan warfare, Abdi decided this Midwestern city was an agreeable place to raise a family and start a small business, friends and family say. Full Story
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