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Friday, 29 July 2011

Fort Hood 'plot' soldier Naser Abdo defiant in court

An Awol US soldier accused of plotting an attack on a Texas military base has been charged in court with illegal possession of a firearm.

Police arrested Pfc Naser Abdo in the town of Killeen, Texas, on Wednesday near the Fort Hood army base.

Authorities said guns and bomb-making materials had been found in the 21-year-old's motel room.

In court, Mr Abdo yelled out the name of a man accused of a gun rampage at the Fort Hood base in 2009.

Mr Abdo, a Texas native, refused to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan from Fort Campbell military base in Kentucky before going missing on 4 July.
'Act of aggression'

He was granted conscientious objector status in May 2011 after he said his religious beliefs would prevent him fighting in any war.

As he left the federal court in Waco, Mr Abdo shouted: "Nidal Hasan Fort Hood 2009."

Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan allegedly shot dead 12 soldiers and one civilian before police bullets wounded him in November 2009.

The Associated Press reported on Friday that Mr Abdo, a Muslim, had written an essay in 2010 near the first anniversary of the Ford Hood shootings, calling that attack "an act of aggression by a man and not by Islam".

Mr Abdo was arrested after police in Killeen received a call from staff at America's Best Value Inn, where he was arrested, police told the BBC.

The owner of a gun store had also phoned police about a suspicious man who purchased ammunition.

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