Feds arrest 25-year-old man in alleged Florida car bomb plot

(CBS/AP) ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A 25-year-old man who authorities describe as an Islamic extremist is accused of plotting to attack sites around Tampa, Fla.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Sami Osmakac was arrested Saturday after taking possession of disabled guns and bombs he had purchased from an undercover agent. 

Authorities say Osmakac is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the former Yugoslavia. He has been charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. His first appearance in federal court is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Federal officials say Osmakac was closely monitored by law enforcement officials for several months, reports CBS affiliate WTSP.

Federal officials say a confidential source told them in September 2011 that Osmakac wanted Al Qaeda flags. The federal complaint alleges Osmakac gave an undercover agent a $500 down payment for an AK-47, multiple homemade explosive grenades and an explosive belt so he could attack various locations in Tampa.

On Jan. 1, allegedly Osmakac told the agent that he wanted to bomb nightclubs, the Operations Center of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, and a business in Tampa.

Osmakac also allegedly told the undercover FBI agent that he wanted to detonate a car bomb and use the explosive belt to "get in somewhere where there's a lot of people" and take hostages. During that meeting, the agent told Osmakac he could always change his mind about his plot.

"According to the complaint, Osmakac immediately shook his head in the negative and stated, `We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?,' " the Department of Justice press release stated.