Police in the city of Boston have charged a Massachusetts Muslim man with plotting to attack US and allied forces in Iraq and strike at a shopping in the US as he sought to wage "jihad" on American interests.

Tarek Mehanna, 27, is accused of conspiring with other suspects from 2001 to 2008 "to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country" and to kill a US citizen outside US territory. The men also plotted a strike on US soil on a mall, as well as a plan to kill two members of the US administration.

Mr Mehanna and his co-plotters were inspired by watching "jihad" videos. The men sought to get training in militant camps in the Middle East and to acquire automatic weapons for the strike on the mall, but were unsuccessful. If convicted, Mr Mehanna faces up to 15 years in prison.