A Butler County man who was arrested on terrorism charges has pleaded guilty to planning the kidnapping and execution of a U.S. military employee and an attack on a police station.

A Butler Countyman who was arrested on terrorism charges has pleaded guilty to planning the kidnapping and execution of a U.S. military employee and an attack on a police station.

Prosecutors released previously sealed documents, including a plea agreement, on Thursday that detailthe national-security case against Munir Abdulkader, 21, of West Chester.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Abdulkader on May 21, 2015 after he purchased an AK-47, endingthe task force'stwo-year surveillance of him.

Unsealed court documents and the FBI gave this detailed accountof Abdulkader's case:

A native of Eritrea in east Africa, Abdulkader became a citizen of the United States in September 2006. He was a college student at a Xavier University in Cincinnatiwhen hecame onto the FBI's radar after writing Twitter posts seen as sympathetic toIslamic State fighters.

On a Twitter account that began in July 2014 and continued into 2015, Abdulkader posted an IS training video, lamented that his cousin had died fighting for IS and expressed his desire to travel and join the terrorist insurgency.

Abdulkader also stated his wish to attainmartyrdom.

From Marchto mid-April 2015, Abdulkader began speaking with a confidentialsourceabout his intentions to travel to Syria and fight for the insurgency. He secured a passport, saved money for the trip and began making travel plans, but postponed the trip until May 2015 because of increasedarrests of individuals traveling to join IS.

During May 2015, Abdulkader communicated with one or more people overseas who were tiedto IS.One, a member of IS identified as Junaid Hussein, encouraged Abdulkader to commit terrorist attacks in the United States beforegoing to Syria. IS hasadvocated for lone-wolf jihadis and extremists to conduct attacks in their home countries.

"It�s significant that Abdulkader was not just inspired by terrorist groups � he was in direct contact with the ISIL recruiter Junaid Hussein, who encouraged and directed his planned attack," acting U.S. Attorney Ben Glassman for the Ohio Southern District said in a statement.

Abdulkader�s plans included abducting a military employee at homeand filming the employee�s execution. After executing the employee, he would attack a police station in the Southern District of Ohio using a firearm and Molotov cocktails.

In preparation for the attacks, prosecutors said Abdulkader staked out a particular police station, trained at a shooting range and negotiated the purchase of an AK-47 for $350 from the confidential source. He was arrested before anyone was injured.

Officials would not disclose which military employee and police station Abdulkader planned to attack.

On Feb. 29 of this year,Abdulkader pleaded guilty to attempting to kill a government employee, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and attempting material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Attempted murder of a government employee is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison; material support of a foreign terrorist organization is a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison; and the firearmconviction carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

jsteinbauer@dispatch.com

@JamesSteinbauer