ISIS-K, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, directed an Afghan man’s foiled U.S. Election Day terror plot, according to two senior U.S. officials briefed on the matter. The revelation that a foreign terrorist organization was in communication with a would-be attacker inside the U.S. makes the alleged Election Day plot different from most terrorism cases in the past decade, most of which involved people self-radicalized online or self-directed attempts. The charging documents say Tawhedi told the FBI that he was communicating with a person named “Malik” and that he knew “Malik” was affiliated with ISIS. Tawhedi’s mother, who lives in Afghanistan, is believed to be an ISIS sympathizer, two U.S. officials said. In the France case, law enforcement officials told NBC News they had opened a preliminary investigation into a potential terror plot in France on Sept. 27.

---

Persons: Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, Tawhedi’s, Tawhedi, “ Malik ”, United States Department of Justice Tawhedi, — Organizations: Islamic, U.S, FBI, AK, Russia, AP ISIS, ISIS, United States Department of Justice, CIA, NBC News, Terrorism Locations: Islamic State, Afghan, Oklahoma, Russian, Crocus, Moscow, U.S, Afghanistan, Paris, France, Toulouse, Fronton, Haute, Garonne, Iran, Europe