Refugee arrested in US for plotting church attack

NEW YORK, June 20 (AFP): A Syrian refugee in the US was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of planning an attack against a Pennsylvania church in the name of the Islamic State group, the Justice Department said.

Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 21, who arrived in the country as a refugee from Syria in August 2016, intended to target a church in the North Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, assistant attorney general John Demers and Pittsburgh federal prosecutor Scott Brady said in a statement.

"Court documents show Mustafa Alowemer planned to attack a church in the name of ISIS, which could have killed or injured many people," Michael McGarrity, of the FBI's counter-terrorism division, said in the statement.

"The FBI takes threats to churches and other religious institutions extremely seriously and will use all our resources to stop potential terrorist attacks against them," he said.