US soldier convicted in base attack plot

Naser Jason Abdo, 22, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison over the plot to attack soldiers and their families at the Fort Hood base in Texas, the scene of a deadly shooting rampage in 2009.He was arrested after a store clerk became alarmed by Abdos demeanor while he paid $256.44 in cash for a number of items including smokeless gunpowder.Its important to note that this plot was interrupted and a potential tragedy prevented because an alert citizen notified law enforcement of suspicious activity, triggering prompt investigation and intervention, said Robert Pitman, US attorney for the Western District of Texas.Police found a handgun, enough gunpowder to make at least one bomb and directions from an Al-Qaeda magazine on how to build an explosive device when they searched Abdos discount hotel room near the base.Witnesses also testified that Abdo had intended to kidnap a soldier and execute him on video.But the plan fell apart and Abdo fled, leaving his Cadillac, body bags, a green body bag carrier and bleach to clean up the crime scene. He had also acquired a stun gun and a cattle prong.One witness testified at trial that Abdo told him that the assault was intended to show support for Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim psychiatrist accused of killing 12 soldiers and a civilian in the 2009 shooting, which also wounded 32 others.The FBI alleges Hasan had contacts with radical US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, a leading member of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was killed in a September 2011 drone strike.