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Wednesday, August 7, 2024
FILE – A screenshot of a video released by the Islamic State affiliate in Somalia showing a masked man from Canada advocating jihad.
PHOENIX, Ariz. (HOL) — Two Somali citizens living in Tucson have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group (ISIS). Ahmed Mahad Mohamad, 26, and Abdi Yemeni Hussein, 25, were charged with Arrested They were preparing to travel to Egypt to join ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula on July 26, 2019. Sentencing will be announced on October 11, 2024 by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps.
Starting in August 2018, Mohammed began looking for ISIS supporters online, expressing his desire to join ISIS and become a martyr. He said Hussein had the same goal. The two met in 2019 and finalized the plan. Hussein suggested that if they could not join ISIS, they should attack the White House.
By June 2019, they had sold their car and bought tickets to fly from Tucson to Cairo. On July 26, they checked in at Tucson International Airport, passed through security, and arrived at the gate. Mohammed had $10,000 in travel expenses and money to buy guns. They planned to sneak into the ISIS-controlled area of Egypt. However, FBI agents arrested them before they could board the plane.
The two face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. After serving their sentences, they will be deported to Somalia.
At the time of their arrest, former President Donald Trump stressed the need to be vigilant against such threats and Tout His 2017 travel ban on Muslim countries sparked huge controversy, including somalia.
Somalia’s National Security Advisor Hussein Moalem Mohamed Fade He stressed that the Islamic State has a strong presence in the country. Limited quantity Somali militants are confined to a small area in the Puntland region.
The leader of the Islamic State in Somalia, Abdikadir MomenAfter being radicalized in the UK, he joined al-Shabaab in 2010 and defected to ISIS in 2015. Despite his efforts, his group remains small compared to other Islamist insurgent groups, with an estimated 100-200 fighters, mostly foreigners. Momen has been the target of several US counterterrorism operations, including a recent airstrike in May 2024 that killed him. Allegedly survived.
Despite the limited size of his faction, Momen is still designated as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the U.S. State Department. The ongoing rivalry between ISIS and Al Shabaab has fueled regional instability, particularly in the Bari region, where ISIS has exerted influence through extortion and violence.
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