Mississauga man jailed for ISIS-inspired New York City terror plot gets 50 years after prison guard loses eye in attack

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A 28-year-old Mississauga man already behind bars in the United States for plotting a terrorist attack in New York City on behalf of ISIS was handed an additional 50-year sentence Monday for a vicious attack on correctional officers in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Attorneys office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy will serve the sentence concurrently to the 40-year jail term he is already serving for his role in plotting a mass-casualty terror attack.

The Justice Department said Bahnasawy was an inmate at U.S. Penitentiary Allenwood on Dec. 7, 2020, when he attacked two corrections officers using a weapon made from part of a steel desk in his cell. He stabbed one officer in the head and face, and, when a second responded to assist, he stabbed her in the hand.

The first officer eventually lost his right eye as a result of the attack.

‘Terrorist attack for Islamic State’

When Bahnasawy was restrained, investigators said a note was found in his sock that read, “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State.” In addition, a pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) was also found taped to the inside of a locker door in his prison cell.

“Bahnasawy … savagely attacked corrections officers once again on behalf of ISIS,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement. “(Monday’s) sentence will further ensure that Bahnasawy remains in prison, where he can do much less harm, for a very long time.”

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Bahnasawy pleaded guilty in November 2025 to multiple counts of assault, assault with intent to commit murder, and possession of contraband inside a prison as well as providing material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

“We will prosecute those who aid, attempt to aid, or commit violence on behalf of the pernicious ISIS ideology wherever they may be found,” said U.S. Attorney Brian D. Miller, Middle District of Pennsylvania.

U.S. officials said Bahnasawy plotted with Talha Haroon and Russell Salic to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan in 2016, all in the name of ISIS, the Justice Department said.

Arrested in May 2016

An undercover FBI agent infiltrated the co-conspirators’ terrorist plot by posing as an ISIS supporter who was prepared to join in the attacks. FBI investigators arrested Bahnasawy in May 2016 after he travelled from Canada to the New York City area in preparation for the attacks.

Bahnasawy’s family has said he suffers from bipolar disorder and drug abuse issues. During his teen years, he received treatment in Toronto and Kuwait, but eventually stopped taking medication after he felt judged by his classmates because of his weight gain and reported to be tired and sleepy in class.

The family also alleged he was vulnerable to being radicalized and entrapped as a minor while dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues. He was arrested just two months after he turned 18.

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