6 people living in US charged with arming, funding ISIL

World Today

The U.S. government said that ISIL fighters were getting arms and money from a group of Bosnian immigrants living in the United States. The six men and women have now been criminally charged. CCTV America’s Jessica Stone reported the story from Washington, D.C.

Authorities said five of the defendants have been arrested and a sixth is overseas. According to court papers, their alleged plot was to support a fellow Bosnian who had become an ISIL foreign fighter.

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said the ring dates back to May 2013 and was led by a St. Louis couple who came to the U.S. as refugees. They have already appeared before a judge. All six of those charged are in the United States legally.

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Nihad Rosic and one other in the group were also charged with conspiring to kill and maim those in a foreign country. According to court papers, Rosic even tried to fly to Syria to join the fight  last July.

The defendants not only allegedly sent thousands of dollars to a fellow Bosnian foreign fighter, but they are also accused of sending U.S. military uniforms, combat boots, tactical gear, and things like range finders and scopes for rifles.

Prosecutors said these supplies would be distributed by their contact with ISIL, Abdullah Ramo Pazara, who left the U.S. to join the fight in May 2013. They also had intermediaries in Turkey and Saudi Arabia who could pass along the items.

Two of the accused parties also allegedly discussed buying a night-vision camera to recording killings while fighting in the Middle East.

If convicted of the charge of material support to terrorism, the defendants face up to 15 years in jail plus fines. The two facing charges of trying to kill and maim those in a foreign country could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.


Max Abrahms of Northeastern Univ. discusses politics behind ISIL

CCTV America interviewed Max Abrahms to discuss the political incentives driving ISIL. Abrahms is a professor at Northeastern University and an expert on terrorism.