Three Brooklyn residents have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a terror group, the FBI announced today. According to investigators, Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, and Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, were planning to leave Brooklyn and travel to Syria to join the Islamic State (a.k.a. ISIS a.k.a. ISIL), and intended to commit domestic terrorism here in America if their trip was unsuccessful. A third man, Abror Habibov, 30, is accused of participating and financing the endeavor.
The threat was "aspirational, not operational," according to the FBI, which conducted extensive surveillance of the three suspects last summer. Juraboev caught the FBI's eye after he allegedly made a posting on an Uzbek-language website that propagates ISIL’s ideology. The men allegedly made a number of terroristic threats online. Here's an excerpt from the criminal complaint:
Arrests were made this morning after Saidakhmetov was about to board a flight to Istanbul from JFK airport. Juraboev, a citizen of Uzbekistan, had previously purchased a plane ticket to travel from New York.
Last month ISIL spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani reportedly urged Muslims to carry out "lone wolf" attacks around the world. FBI investigators say Saidakhmetov announced intentions to buy a machine gun and kill police officers and FBI agents if his attempt to join ISIL in Syria failed.
"Two of the defendants in this case sought to travel to Syria to join [ISIL] but were prepared to wage violent jihad here in the United States if they were unable to travel,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch in a statement. “Another defendant allegedly provided financial assistance and encouragement and operated a domestic network of individuals willing to support [ISIS]’s cause. We will vigorously prosecute those who attempt to travel to Syria to wage violent jihad on behalf of ISIL and those who support them. Anyone who threatens our citizens and our allies, here or abroad, will face the full force of American justice."
Read the entire complaint here in PDF form.
