Born: 1993;

Place of Birth: New York, United States;

Gender: Male;

Nationality: American;

General Info:
Ali Saleh is a man who was convicted for attempting to provide material support to Islamic State and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Saleh was also sentenced to 100 months of prison time for assaulting a federal correctional officer at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Starting in 2013 and thereafter, Saleh swore an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State and embraced ISIS’s directive to either travel to the Middle East to fight for Islamic State or take action at home in support of the Islamic State.

On August 25, 2014, Saleh stated online, “I’m ready to die for the Caliphate, prison is nothing.”

On August 28, 2014, Saleh stated online, “Lets be clear the Muslims in the khilafah [caliphate] need help, the one who is capable to go over and help the Muslims must go and help.”

That same day, Saleh made an airline reservation to travel from New York to Turkey, a country bordering Syria.

Saleh was ultimately prevented from traveling because his parents took away his passport.

Saleh then redirected his efforts to facilitating others’ support of Islamic State. In October 2014, Saleh communicated with an Islamic State supporter in Mali through an online messaging platform and sent a wire transfer in the amount of $500 to fund that person’s travel to Syria.

Around the same time period, Saleh communicated with several other individuals in an effort to facilitate their support of Islamic State, including known ISIS supporters in the United Kingdom and Australia.

In July 2015, Saleh purchased 48 pyrotechnic mortars (large, tube-fired fireworks described as “artillery shells” on the packaging and containing explosive powder), stored them in a hidden area in the trunk of his car, and drove towards New York City.

Law enforcement agents discovered on the cell phone that Saleh used at this time detailed instructions regarding how to create a bomb, including a hand thrown improvised explosive device, a pipe bomb, and a pressure cooker bomb, using explosive powder from fireworks.

Saleh’s fireworks were sufficient to create multiple hand thrown IEDs or a pressure cooker bomb.

As Saleh drove toward New York City with the explosive materials in his trunk, his car broke down, and he was forced to have it towed. He abandoned the car later.

Saleh then made five separate attempts, over 10 days, to travel to the Middle East to fight for Islamic State terrorist group.

On July 24, 2015, Saleh contacted an Islamic State travel facilitator in Libya and made a same-day one-way booking to travel from New York to Cairo, Egyot.

Saleh went to JFK and attempted to pay for the flight at the airline ticket counter, but he was informed by airline personnel that a message had come up on the screen and he left the ticket line.

Saleh subsequently visited international airports in Newark, Philadelphia and Indianapolis, but continued to encounter travel restrictions.

He attempted to circumvent air travel restrictions by taking a train from Cleveland to Toronto, Canada, to fly to the Middle East from Canada.

After law enforcement intervention, however, Saleh did not board the train and instead returned to New York.

After his encounters with law enforcement, Saleh changed his online social media moniker and expressed his support for Islamic State under new usernames.

On August 24, 2015, Saleh stated online, “I am a terrorist.” On September 1, 2015, Saleh stated online, “If they aren’t implementing shariah (Islamic law) grab your gun and implement shariah and see how fast the world turns against you.”