Chicago Bomb Plot: Teen Arrested in Violent, Premeditated Jihad Attempt Outside Bar

18-year-old Adel Daoud has been arrested for attempting to plant and set off a car bomb in front of a Chicago bar on Friday. Police detained Daoud during an undercover operation, where agents posing as extremists proved the young Illinois man with a fake bomb, authorities announced on Saturday. Daoud can face life in prison if convicted.

Daoud was charged with "attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to damage and destroy a building with an explosive." Chicago police insist the phony bomb "purchased" by Daoud was of no real harm or threat to the public.

Daoud (who resides in Hillside, a suburb right outside of Chicago), came under police surveillance last October after he began exchanging emails about his growing interest in violent jihad. According to authorities, Daoud began seeking and transmitting information and material concerning such violent jihad and killings of Americans on the web, including the creation of a PowerPoint presentation which defended tactics used by Osama bin Laden. Jihad is an Islamic term which means "struggle."

Daoud was contacted by two undercover agents who responded to the posts back in May. Many electronic messages were exchanged, with Daoud eventually expressing interest in engaging in violent jihad either in the US or abroad. The complaint about Daoud states he then began looking online for "guidance regarding whether to carry out a terrorist attack in the United States" earlier this summer.

Daoud met up with an undercover agent back in June who posed as a man interested in attacking a major city. After several meetings, Daoud supposedly presented a list of dozens of potential targets all centered on highly populated places, including military recruiting centers, bars, and malls.

Daoud allegedly supported the war on terrorism, telling the undercover agent that the killing of civilians was justified because "you can't really take these people as regular people. They're like, more like robots ... even the decent nice people, most people in this country."

On Friday, September 14, Daoud and the undercover agent headed into downtown Chicago at approximately 7:15 p.m. They drove into a parking lot where a Jeep Cherokee containing the fake bomb was located. The complaint against Daoud states that during his ride with the undercover agent, he led a prayer asking that the two may, "succeed in their attack, kill many people and cause destruction."

Daoud was promptly arrested after driving the Jeep and parking in front of a popular unidentified Chicago bar. He attempted to detonate the bogus device after having walked a block away from the pre-selected target.

Chicago police insist Daoud was given many opportunities to back out of the hateful crime.

According to court documents, in one correspondence with an undercover agent Daoud wrote, "I wanted something that's ... massive; I want something that's gonna make it in the news."