Philadelphia teen sought to travel overseas, make bombs for terrorist groups, prosecutors say

A Philadelphia teenager who authorities say wanted to travel overseas and make bombs for terrorist organizations will be tried as an adult.

The District Attorney's office made the announcement Wednesday as it disclosed more details of the allegations against Muhyyee-Ud-din Abdul-Rahman, who was 17 when he was arrested in August 2023. He is now 18, and his bail has been set at $5 million.

It was not immediately clear who is representing Abdul-Rahman. Court records for the case could not be located via an online search, and the District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a query about whether he has a lawyer. His father, Qawi Abdul-Rahman, a local criminal defense attorney who previously ran for a judgeship, was not in his law office Wednesday and did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Prosecutors say Abdul-Rahman conducted at least 12 tests on homemade bombs near his family’s home before he was arrested and was close to being able to detonate devices with a blast radius of several hundred yards (meters).

And as his knowledge of explosives increased, authorities allege, he conducted online searches that indicated at least some interest in striking targets including the Philadelphia Pride parade and critical infrastructure sites such as power plants and domestic military bases.

Law enforcement began investigating Abdul-Rahman after they received electronic communications between him and terrorist groups in Syria, prosecutors said. The communications indicated that Abdul-Rahman wanted to become a bombmaker for these groups, identified as Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ) and Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS).

KTJ is officially designated by the U.S. State Department as a global terrorist organization and is affiliated with Al-Qaeda, prosecutors said. HTS also has a similar designation.

As the investigation into Abdul-Rahman continued, authorities learned he was buying military and tactical gear as well as materials that could be used in homemade bombs, prosecutors said.

Abdul-Rahman faces charges including possessing weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy, arson and causing or risking a catastrophe. Prosecutors said they sought to move his case to adult court due to the gravity of the charges and because the juvenile system was not equipped to provide adequate consequences or rehabilitation.