Somalian teenager arrested for the attempted terrorist attack near Christmas tree in U.S.

Somali-born teenager Mohamed Osman Mohamud was held after he attempted to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon. However, undercover FBI agents had been monitoring his plans and had ensured that the "bomb" was in fact incapable of exploding.

Mohamud, 19, a naturalised US citizen of Somali descent, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Portland police around 5:40 pm Friday, according to Telegraph.co.uk.

Yelling "Allahu Akbar!" - Arabic for "God is great!" - Mohamud tried to kick agents and police as they closed in, according to prosecutors.

"The threat was very real," said Arthur Balizan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. "Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale," The Associated Press reports.