US Citizen Charged With Providing Material Support To ISIS

2/16/2024 7:07:57 PM

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (KUNA) -- A complaint was unsealed on Friday charging Harafa Hussein Abdi, 41, of Minneapolis, with providing and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and receiving and conspiring to receive military-type training from ISIS.
Abdi, a US citizen, was recently taken into custody overseas and was transported to the United States yesterday, according to a statement from US Department of Justice.
Abdi will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo in Manhattan federal court later today.
"As alleged, Harafa Hussein Abdi, a citizen of this country, traveled from Minnesota to join a group of ISIS fighters in Somalia," said US Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York.
"While training with ISIS fighters in Somalia, Abdi allegedly carried an AK-47, threatened to attack civilians in New York City, and encouraged others to carry out such attacks.
"Our law enforcement partners have relentlessly pursued this investigation to ensure the disruption of Abdi's alleged plans to wage terror on our shores and bring Abdi to an American court to face justice.
"No matter how long it takes, this office is steadfast in its commitment to investigate, disrupt and prosecute terrorist threats against Americans," Williams added.
As alleged in the complaint, Abdi, moved from Minnesota to Somalia in 2015. Once there, he joined a group of ISIS fighters at an ISIS training camp in the Puntland region of Somalia.
During his time with the group, Abdi regularly carried an AK-47 assault rifle and received training on how to use it. In addition, Abdi worked in the ISIS group's "media" wing, where he filmed footage for distribution by a pro-ISIS media outlet.
Abdi is charged with (i) conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; (ii) providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; (iii) conspiring to receive military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; and (iv) receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine or both. (end)
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