(Image source from: The Intercept)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation proclaimed the arrest of a professed supporter of al-Qaeda on Monday who was planning to target members of the United States military and their kin group with a bomb attack on a July 4 parade in Cleveland, Ohio.

The FBI said Demetrius Nathaniel Pitts, who also used the name Abdur Raheem Rafeeq, told an undercover agent that he wanted to load up a vehicle with explosives and blow it up during the U.S. national day celebrations on Wednesday.

"His desire, to kill military personnel and their families," said FBI special agent Steve Anthony.

FBI and Justice Department officials said Pitts, a U.S. native with "an extensive criminal history" was apprehended on Sunday after discussing how to carry out the operation with an undercover agent.

Anthony said that they had been observing him since months after he made statements in aid of al-Qaeda and verbalized "violent intentions" against groups including the U.S. armed forces.

By Sowmya Sangam