PHILADELPHIA: Muslim teen charged with plotting bomb attacks, including targeting the LGBTQ Pride Parade as well as military bases and nuclear stations.

According to authorities, Muhyyee-ud-din Abdul-Rahman, an 18-year-old Muslim from West Philadelphia, wasn’t just talking. He created and tested bombs at least 12 times near his home, actively preparing for an attack. He communicated through WhatsApp with Islamic extremist groups like Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad and Hay’at Tahrir al Sham—both tied to Al-Qaeda. His profile picture? Osama bin Laden.

MetroPhiladelphia  Abdul-Rahman’s phone searches showed he looked up terms like “Philadelphia gay parade” and “trash can bombs,” signaling plans to target the Pride Parade. He also researched nuclear power stations, military bases, and other critical infrastructure, indicating broader plans for large-scale attacks.

Federal agents arrested Muhyyee-Ud-din Abdul-Rahman more than a year ago, when he was 17 years old. At the time, authorities provided few details about the investigation. The District Attorney’s Office provided an update last week after a judge agreed with prosecutors that the case should be moved to adult court.

In an interview shortly after his August 2023 arrest, told investigators that he had exploded between 12 and 20 explosives in wooded areas near his Wynnefield home, according to the DA’s Office.

He reported being days away from testing a pressure cooker bomb that would have required a few hundred yards of open space to detonate, prosecutors said. Abdul-Rahman had also acquired ingredients to construct an triacetone triperoxide, Listenbee said, a particularly powerful explosive that has been used in numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2005 London bombings that killed more than 50 people.

Prosecutors believe Abdul-Rahman wanted to travel to Syria’s Idlib Province to construct bombs for Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ) and Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS). The U.S. federal government has designated both groups as terrorist organizations.

Listenbee said Abdul-Rahman viewed Osama bin Laden as an “inspiration leader,” and he used a photograph of the late al-Qaeda founder as his WhatsApp profile picture.

He has been charged with manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, criminal conspiracy, arson, risking a catastrophe, attempted criminal mischief and other crimes. Abdul-Rahman could also face federal prosecution, according to the DA’s Office. Following the transfer of his case to adult court, Abdul-Rahman was jailed on $5 million bail,