Abdo says Fort Campbell was 1st target

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A soldier accused of plotting to kill troops at Fort Hood in Texas told a Tennessee television station he was originally planning an attack on his home post of Fort Campbell.

Pfc. Naser Abdo told WSMV-TV in Nashville his target at the installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee line was a high-ranking official he did not identify.

"On July 4, I was going to kidnap and video tape the execution of a high ranking member of my chain of command, who participated in the Afghan mission," Abdo said in the telephone interview.

Abdo's interview, which aired Monday, was his first since his arrest in July at a Killeen, Texas, motel near Fort Hood. He was absent without leave from Fort Campbell, and authorities allege he planned to detonate two bombs in a restaurant full of Fort Hood soldiers and then shoot anyone who survived.

The military cannot comment due to a court order in the case.

Abdo said he bought a cattle prod, handcuffs, and shovels for his Fort Campbell plan, but when military police learned he was visiting gun stores near Fort Campbell, he decided to go absent without leave.

Abdo was indicted on three federal charges in August and six others last week, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. That charge carries a maximum life sentence.

At his first court appearance the day after his arrest, Abdo shouted "Nidal Hasan, Fort Hood 2009!" — an apparent homage to the suspect in the worst mass shooting ever on a U.S. military installation.

But Abdo had spoken out against the Fort Hood shooting rampage last year as he made a public plea to be granted conscientious objector status, earlier citing his Muslim beliefs to avoid serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Abdo, 21, later was approved as a conscientious objector, but that status was put on hold after he was charged with possessing child pornography.