FBI arrests Jordanian for Dallas bomb plot

DALLAS (Reuters) - A Jordanian national was arrested by the FBI on Thursday for attempting to bomb a skyscraper in downtown Dallas, the Department of Justice said.

"Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, 19, has been arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction," the department said in a statement.

"Smadi, who was under continuous surveillance by the FBI, was arrested today near Fountain Place, a 60-story glass office tower ... in downtown Dallas, after he placed an inert/inactive car bomb at the location," it said.

Smadi will make his initial appearance tomorrow in U.S. District Court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez.

The FBI said his arrest was not related to the bomb-plot investigation in New York and Colorado that led to the indictment of a Denver airport shuttle bus driver on Thursday.

Afghan immigrant Najibullah Zazi, accused of acquiring bomb-making chemicals, was charged under federal anti-terrorism laws with plotting to set off explosives in the United States.