Iraqi refugee living in Tucson accused of making bomb

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - A Tucson man, a refugee from Iraq, has been accused of making a bomb and instructing others how to do it themselves.

According to the federal complaint, Ahmad Suhad Ahmad agreed to build a remote-controlled device for undercover FBI agents.

The investigation began in December 2016 when Ahmad allegedly told an informant he knew how to detonate a bomb using a cellphone. Ahmad said he learned how during the war in Iraq.

He claimed it was easy, according to the federal complaint.

Federal agents said an informant met with Ahmad in April 2017 and Ahmad agreed to show the source how to make a car bomb to kill a target in Mexico. Federal agents said they met with Ahmad numerous times at his apartment in Tucson over the next few weeks.

On April 26, 2017, Ahmad allegedly traveled to Las Vegas with two undercover agents to build the bomb at a condo there.

The FBI said Ahmad constructed one bomb and showed agents how to build a second.

According to the Daily Mail, Ahmad left Iraq more than 10 years ago and ran a mechanic shop in Tucson.

This is not Ahmad’s first run-in with authorities.

According to court documents, he was arrested on drug charges in December 2016 and June 2017. He allegedly violated his probation and was sentenced to time in state prison in early 2018.

Ahmad also faced a federal drug charge in 2017. That charge was dismissed, according to court filings.

Ahmad’s preliminary hearing for his most recent charge is set for Friday, Nov. 2 in Tucson.

His federal public defender Walter I. Gonçalves, Jr. provided a statement that read in part, “...it is the prosecutor’s job to prove the charges against our client beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury. Mr. Ahmad is presumed innocent. We look forward to our day in court.”

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