Maryland man charged for providing support to ISIS terrorist group

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted a Maryland man on charges of attempting to murder an FBI agent and trying to provide support to Islamic State (ISIS), Reuters reports.

Nelash Das, 25, of Landover Hills, was arrested by federal agents in September of 2016 as he was preparing to attack a U.S. military service member. He was accompanied by a person who was a paid FBI informant, court records show.

Das, a Bangladeshi citizen who is a legal U.S. resident, was indicted for attempting to provide support to ISIS from October 2015 to September 2016, the Justice Department said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

The statement and the indictment provided no details about the charge of attempting to murder an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Officials were not immediately available to comment.

Das told the informant that he was committed to attacking a military service member, adding, “That’s my goal in life,” according to an October 2016 affidavit. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Since 2013, American prosecutors have charged more than 100 individuals with ISIS-related crimes.

Last month, an active duty soldier in the U.S. Army was arrested in Hawaii for allegedly providing material support to the jihadist group.

In February, a Florida man was convicted of plotting to set off a bomb at a public beach in an act that prosecutors said was inspired by ISIS.

The man, 25-year-old Harlem Suarez, was found guilty of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and providing material support to terrorists. He faces up to life in prison at his sentencing.

Last October, a former California college student was sentenced to 30 years in prison for trying to aid ISIS.

Source: INN