West Haven Man Pleads Guilty After Trying to Join ISIS

A West Haven man has pleaded guilty to charges after trying to travel to the Middle East to join and fight for terrorist group ISIS.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 25-year-old Ahmed Khalil Elshazly was arrested on Dec. 15, 2019 after arriving in Stonington where he expected to board a boat heading to Turkey.

Elshazly had wanted to travel to Syria and the surrounding area to fight on behalf of ISIS, according to court documents.

In conversations online and in person, Elshazly allegedly pledged allegiance to the new leader of the terrorist group Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, according to state officials.

Court documents show that Elshazly paid $500 to a person he believed was an ISIS facilitator who could smuggle him out of the United States and into Turkey. He thought traveling to Turkey would enable him to connect with ISIS members overseas who would then help him traveling to ISIS in Syria.

On Wednesday, Elshazly pleaded guilty to conspiracy of potential terrorist crimes. The charge faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

“There is no higher priority than the security of our nation,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery. “My office works closely with our law enforcement partners to prevent and apprehend those who wish to cause violence and other harm, both in the U.S. and abroad, before they are successful.”

The incident is under investigation by the FBI’s Joint Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Connecticut State Police and many more entities.

A sentencing date has not yet been announced.

Source: msn