A convicted terrorist who plotted an ISIS-inspired bloodbath has been handed another 50 years in prison after stabbing two guards and leaving one blind in an eye.
Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy attacked the correctional officers while already serving 40 years for planning mass-casualty bombings and shootings across New York City.
The 28-year-old Canadian’s new sentence will run consecutively to his existing term, leaving him facing a combined 90 years behind bars.
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El Bahnasawy was being held at USP Allenwood in Pennsylvania when he launched the attack on 7 December 2020.
According to the US Department of Justice, he used a weapon fashioned from part of a steel desk inside his cell.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said: “Bahnasawy, who is already serving a 40-year sentence in federal prison for plotting mass casualty attacks in New York City on behalf of ISIS, savagely attacked corrections officers once again on behalf of ISIS.
He stabbed one officer in the head and face before knifing a second guard in the hand as she rushed to help her colleague.
The first officer eventually lost his right eye because of his injuries.
After El Bahnasawy was restrained, authorities discovered a note hidden in his sock which read: “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State.”
A pledge of allegiance to ISIS was also found taped inside a locker door in his cell.
He pleaded guilty in November 2025 to multiple assault counts, assault with intent to commit murder, possessing contraband in prison and providing material support to ISIS.
“Today’s sentence will further ensure that Bahnasawy remains in prison, where he can do much less harm, for a very long time.”
US Attorney Brian Miller said the punishment demonstrated a commitment to prosecuting people who commit or support violence in ISIS’s name, even from behind bars.
FBI Counterterrorism Division assistant director Jarod Brown described the assault as a “horrific attack” and said both officers had fortunately survived.
El Bahnasawy’s original sentence followed an elaborate 2016 plot to bomb Times Square and the New York subway system and shoot civilians at concert venues.
Prosecutors said he pinpointed potential bomb locations on a subway map, obtained bomb-making materials and helped secure a cabin within driving distance of New York where explosives could be assembled.
He communicated through encrypted apps with Talha Haroon, a US citizen then living in Pakistan, and Russell Salic, a Philippine citizen, while planning attacks during Ramadan.
El Bahnasawy told an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS supporter that he wanted to “create the next 9/11”, according to prosecutors.
He was arrested in May 2016 after travelling from Canada to the New York area and later pleaded guilty to seven terrorism offences.
In 2018, he received 40 years in prison and lifetime supervision following his release.
The latest case was investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Capital Area Resident Agency and prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for Pennsylvania’s Middle District and the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.
His mother, Dr Khdiga R Metwally, is currently standing for election as a Halton District School Board trustee in Wards 1 and 2 in Milton, Ontario.
The former teacher and university chair has said voters should assess her according to her own qualifications and record, rather than her son’s crimes.
Her campaign includes a focus on student mental health, early intervention and protecting young people from harmful online influences.
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