Two refugees arrested this week on federal terrorism-related charges were in communication with each other, a law enforcement official told CNN.
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A man in California encouraged a fellow Iraqi refugee in Texas to join the civil war against the Syrian government and promised to teach him how to fight, federal authorities said Friday, a day after terrorism charges against the men were revealed.
The documents did not indicate how the two men are connected.
Federal authorities said Al-Jayab promised to provide weapons training to Al Hardan and advised him on how he would be assigned to the battlefield once he arrived in Syria. He was indicted Wednesday on three charges that he tried to provide material support to extremists.
“I need to learn from your weapon expertise”, the individual wrote to Jayab, according to the complaint.
Another said, “O God, grant us martyrdom for your sake while engaged in fighting and not retreating; a martyrdom that would make you satisfied with us”.
“Our concern now is only to arrive there”, Jayab went on. While authorities say Al Jayab fought twice in Syria, including with a group eventually linked to Islamic State, there is no indication that Al Hardan actually traveled there.
Both men remain jailed after initial court appearances on Friday.
Jayab’s brothers, Younis Mohammed Al-Jayab and Samer Mohammed Al-Jayab, and their cousin, Ahmad Waleed Mahmood, were all charged with conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property, receiving stolen property and aiding and abetting, according to the criminal complaint. She says she knows numerous Iraqi students, and says Al-Jayab was often distant.
The sources familiar with the probe said Abbott and Patrick’s comments on Thursday forced federal authorities to wrap up their inquiries and rush out public statements and court papers on the case earlier than planned.
“This is an issue of safety to the American people”, McCaul said. He touted House-passed legislation that would require top security officials to certify to Congress that every refugee accepted is not a security threat. ISIS claimed responsibility for those coordinated attacks on a concert hall, bars, restaurants and a sports stadium that killed 130 people.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the screening of refugees is rigorous and thorough.
But he noted the political controversy about whether the United States should accept refugees with Syrian ties.
“If it weren’t for the State’s bloodletting, I would have been the first one to join it”, he said, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, although.
Republicans, in Washington and on the campaign trail, seized on the arrests to renew their push for immediate security changes to minimize the risk of ISIS and other fighters exploiting the expanded refugee program.
Republican presidential candidate Sen.
“We can not forget that legacy that we have for immigration”.
In addition to the charge of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, he’s charged with procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully and making false statements. The indictment does not provide details about the evidence behind the allegations.
If convicted, Hardan faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The complaint said Al-Jayab, a Palestinian born in Iraq who came to the United States as an Iraqi refugee in October 2012, communicated on social media about his intent to return to Syria to fight for terrorist organizations, discussing his previous experience fighting against the regime in Syria.
Al-Jayab said he had already fought in Syria, starting when he turned 16, according to messages between the two men quoted in court documents.
In November 2013, the complaint alleges, he flew from Chicago to Turkey, then traveled to Syria.
In Syria, he allegedly connected with members of Ansar Al-Islam, a known terrorist group, and posted about his involvement through social media.
“This is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the USA from countries substantially controlled by terrorists”, Abbott said in a statement.
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One of his attorneys said there is nothing to suggest Al-Jayab is planning to commit any act of terrorism or to harm anyone in the U.S. The attorney added that Al-Jayab’s activities overseas were two years ago.
