Former college student convicted of planning terrorist attacks in the United States

A former Texas Tech University student and native of Saudi Arabia was found guilty Wednesday afternoon of planning to bomb several American sites that included dams, the homes of former military officers and the Dallas residence of former President George W. Bush.
Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 22, also researched how to place explosive devices in infant dolls to target a nightclub.
A federal jury in Amarillo found Aldawsari guilty of one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
Aldawsari who faces a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9 in Amarillo
The 22-year-old was arrested on Feb. 23, 2011 in Lubbock.
Aldawsari was lawfully admitted to the United States in 2008 on a student visa and had attended Texas Tech and South Plains College in Levelland near Lubbock.
At the time of his arrest last year, evidence in the trial showed that the Saudi Arabia native had been researching  online how to construct an improvised explosive device using several chemicals as ingredients. Aldawsari allegedly described his desire for violent jihad and martyrdom in blog postings and a personal journal.
Federal agents got tipped off in February 2011 when a chemical supplier reported to the FBI a suspicious attempt to purchase concentrated phenol by a man identifying himself as Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari.
Excerpts from a journal found a Aldawsari’s residence indicated that he had been planning to commit a terrorist attack in the United States for years.
_ Domingo Ramirez Jr.