US Deports Afghan Woman Accused of Backing Mass Shooting Plot
The US Department of Justice said Nazira Haji Zadeh, a 47-year-old Afghan woman, has been deported from the country and returned to Afghanistan on suspicion of supporting a plot to carry out a mass shooting in the United States.
According to the department, Haji Zadeh was deported on August 25 under the order of the “foreign terrorist removal court.” The Justice Department said she admitted in court that she was a “foreign terrorist” and also waived her right to appeal the deportation order.
Agence France-Presse reported that this is the first case to be heard by the “foreign terrorist removal court.” The court was created by the US Congress 30 years ago but had not been used until now.
The Justice Department said Haji Zadeh entered the United States in 2018 and lived in Texas. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zadeh, is also in prison in a separate case on charges of planning a terrorist attack.
According to court documents, Abdullah Haji Zadeh and Nasir Ahmad Tawhidi have been accused of planning an attack on the 2024 US election day on behalf of ISIS. The documents say the two bought two AK-47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition from an FBI informant to carry out a high-casualty attack.
Abdullah Haji Zadeh, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2025. Nasir Ahmad Tawhidi is still awaiting sentencing.
In a statement, US Attorney General Todd Blanche described the case as an example of the Justice Department using legal tools to protect US national security. Texas, where Haji Zadeh lived, is one of the southern US states and borders Mexico.
