Uzbek man admits to plotting to kill Obama

Washington, Feb 11 (ANI): A 22-year-old Uzbek man has admitted to plotting to kill US President Barack Obama.

Ulugbek Kodirov, who was arrested last July and charged with threatening to kill Obama, possessing an automatic weapon and providing material support to terrorists, could face 30 years in jail.

According to the plea agreement, in July 2011 Kodirov came into communication with a man known as "the Emir", who he believed was a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Kodirov and "the Emir" discussed ways to kill Obama, including by a sniper rifle from long distance, The BBC reports.

Kodirov rejected that option because he thought a sniper rifle would cost too much and he was not trained to use one. Instead he plotted to shoot Obama from a closer range.

The plea deal revealed that Kodirov said that 'he did not care if he got shot and killed, as long as he killed President Obama.'

According to the report, on 11 July, Kodirov asked his friend to buy him a gun so he could kill Obama, saying he "knew this was what he was supposed to do for Islam".

Kodirov's defence lawyers said the accused was likely to receive a lighter sentence on account of the plea deal. (ANI)