Amor Ftouhi, 53, was convicted on federal terrorism charges on Tuesday in Michigan

A Tunisian man with dual Canadian citizenship has been sentenced to life in prison for stabbing a Michigan airport cop in the neck in a terrorist attack.

Amor Ftouhi, 53, was sentenced in a federal court in Flint, Michigan on Thursday after being convicted last year on terrorism and other charges.

Witnesses saw Ftouhi attack Lt. Jeff Neville at Flint's Bishop International Airport in June 2017 and wrestle him to the ground.

Prosecutors said he told investigators his 'mission was to kill and be killed.'

His defense lawyer, Joan Morgan, said Ftouhi wasn't attempting to create mass casualties and wanted to be killed so his family could collect life insurance and so he could become a martyr.

Investigators said Ftouhi wanted to stab Neville, take his gun and start shooting people in the airport.

Before sentencing, Ftouhi told the judge he had no regrets and only wished he could have acquired a machine gun that day to kill Neville and others.

Ftouhi said he wants to commit another act of terrorism, only do it "better" by successfully killing people.

Ftouhi, who moved to Canada in 2007, was convicted in November. He was sentenced in a federal courtroom in Flint by U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman.

Amor Ftouhi, 49 (left), was charged with terrorism and related charges for stabbing police officer Jeff Neville (right) while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' on June 21, 2017

On Tuesday, the jury convicted Ftouhi of three crimes after deliberating for just over an hour.

The 53-year-old father of three is a native of Tunisia who was living in Montreal at the time of the stabbing. He holds dual Canadian and Tunisian citizenship.

He legally drove into the U.S. at Champlain, New York, and arrived in Flint five days later. He tried but failed to buy a gun at a gun show and instead bought a large knife.

Witnesses said he yelled, 'Allahu akbar' - Arabic for Allah is the greatest - during the attack before stabbing Neville with an eight-inch serrated knife.

'He further exclaimed something similar to, 'You have killed people in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die,'' according to a court affidavit submitted by authorities.

Neville survived but has lost feeling in part of his face as a result of being stabbed in the neck.

'This is what a Muslim is born for,' Ftouhi said in a handwritten note to his wife that was found in his apartment.

Police officers gathered at the airport on June 21 after Neville was stabbed

Travelers and traffic sit outside a terminal at Bishop International Airport on June 21, 2017 after Ftouhi stabbed an airport police officer in the neck

FBI agent Shadi Elreda told jurors about his interview with Ftouhi after his arrest. He said Ftouhi was upset that Neville might survive.

'His mission was to kill and be killed. He said his mission was not over,' Elreda testified.

Ftouhi's lawyers didn't offer an opening statement at trial and didn't call any witnesses.

The trial lasted only a week, including jury selection.

Montreal Police are seen last June guarding the building in Montreal where airport stabbing suspect Amor Ftouhi lived before traveling to the US and stabbing a police officer

In her closing argument, attorney Joan Morgan said Ftouhi was unstable and believed it would be easier to be killed by police in the U.S. than in Canada.

'He was a person who was absolutely looking for a way out,' she said.

Ftouhi was convicted of committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, committing an act of violence at an international airport and interference with airport security.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cathleen Corken told jurors: 'This isn't a mystery. He was caught right there. He has the knife in his hand.'

The attack came amid a wave of jihadist-inspired attacks in Europe, but investigators have said there is no information to suggest that the Flint stabbing was part of a wider plot.