Feds investigate terror claims after a Lebanese migrant is apprehended at US southern border

Federal law enforcement officials have launched an investigation following a US Border Patrol report of the apprehension of a man at the Texas border who said he was a member of a foreign terrorist organization and had come to the United States in order to build a bomb, CNN has learned.

In an internal US Border Patrol memo obtained by the New York Post, officials describe the apprehension of a Lebanese national named Basel Bassel Ebbadi at the El Paso Border Patrol Sector on March 9. The memo says Ebbadi was interviewed by a tactical terrorist response team after he made threats to border personnel.

“Ebbadi was checked by medical staff and was asked what he was doing here in the US,” the memo reads. “Ebbadi replied, ‘I’m going to try to make a bomb.’”

The individual is in US custody, according to US Customs and Border Protection. A source familiar with the situation told CNN a federal investigation was underway.

Read more: CNN