Authorities have released the first images of the two New Jersey men charged with conspiring to kill Americans overseas.

WPIX 11 News exclusively obtained the mug shots of 27-year-old Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and 26-year-old Carlos Eduardo Almonte. The men made their first federal court appearance Monday in Newark, where they both requested court-appointed attorneys.

According to officials, Alessa and Almonte were arrested Saturday as they were about to board separate flights to Egypt where they were scheduled to continue to Somalia to join the Al Qaeda-backed extremist group known as Al Shabaab. The two allegedly were seeking terror training to unleash attacks against fellow Americans, investigators said.

Agents from the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force, FBI and the NYPD raided the homes of the men in North Bergen and Elmwood Park. Both are U.S. citizens — Alessa born in the U.S. of Palestinian parents and Almonte a naturalized citizen born in the Dominican Republic.

Alessa and Almonte are being held without bail pending a detention hearing Thursday. If convicted, they could face life in prison.

(Source: WPIX 11)