A would-be suicide bomber was arrested Friday, allegedly en route to attack the United States Capitol.

The man, identified as Amine El Khalifi, allegedly wanted to target the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, sources told ABC News.

This artist rendering shows Amine El Khalifi before
U.S. District Judge T. Rawles Jones Jr. in federal
court in Alexandria, Va., Feb. 17, 2012.
(Dana Verkouteren/AP Photo)

The suspect was arrested by the FBI and members of the U.S. Capitol Police after a lengthy sting operation. Undercover FBI agents had posed as al-Qaeda associates and provided the would-be bomber with the vest and MAC-10 machine gun. The suspect had allegedly been watched for more than a year and had indicated that he wanted to launch an attack.

The criminal complaint alleged that El Khalifi was angry because he thought the U.S. was conducting a "war on Muslims."

The government alleged that El Khalifi, a Moroccan citizen, entered the U.S. in June 1999 and stayed in the country illegally after his B2 visa expired later that year.

The FBI has been monitoring the man since January 2011. An FBI affidavit filed in court noted the case picked up intensity in December 2011, when El Khalifi allegedly met with an individual he knew as Hussein and another man who identified himself as Yusuf.