Israeli woman charged in Islamic State US terror plot
Waheba Issa Dais allegedly encouraged an individual to poison a water reservoir and suggested targets for bomb attacks
WASHINGTON — US officials said Wednesday that an Israeli woman living in Wisconsin coached potential Islamic State attackers on how to cook up ricin and kept a library of books on making bombs, poisons and suicide vests.
The Justice Department charged Waheba Issa Dais with attempting to provide material support to Islamic State after arresting the 45 year old divorcee in Cudahy, Wisconsin on Wednesday.
She was said to be the first person in six months to be arrested on charges of supporting a violent jihadist group.
Dais, a legal US resident since 1992, used a number of social media accounts, including accounts hijacked from others, to promote the Islamic State group and facilitate recruitment, according to an indictment.
She maintained “a virtual library of instructions on how to make bombs, biological weapons, poisons and suicide vests” to assist Islamic State supporters in plotting attacks.
She encouraged one person, apparently a law enforcement informant, on how to make the poison ricin and “suggested the individual introduce the ricin to a government post of water reservoirs,” it said.
She also allegedly suggested targets for bomb attacks including street festivals and other summer celebrations.
comments