U.S. citizen sentenced to 45 years in truck bombing

Muhanad al Farekh, a U.S. citizen whose fingerprints were found on a truck bomb used in a 2009 attack on an American base in Afghanistan, was sentenced to 45 years in prison Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court for joining al-Qaida and aiding the attack.

Farekh, 32, an American of Jordanian descent who was born in Houston and grew up in Dubai, was convicted last year of conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, explosives charges and providing material support to the terror group.

He became a key operative in the group after visiting Pakistan with two friends from the University of Manitoba, according to trial testimony. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan.