TEXAS MAN CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO PROVIDE MATERIAL SUPPORT TO ISIL

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Texas Resident Charged with Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISIL

A criminal complaint has been unsealed in the Southern District of Texas following the arrest of a Spring, Texas, man on allegations he conspired to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Division made the announcement.

Asher Abid Khan, 20, was taken into custody this morning without incident.  He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances H. Stacy of the Southern District of Texas today.

The criminal complaint alleges that Khan and a friend devised a plan to travel to Turkey and on to Syria for the purpose of joining and waging jihad on behalf of ISIL.  Khan had allegedly asked a Turkish-based foreign terrorist fighter facilitator that “I wana join ISIS can you help?”  He also told someone else that “I wana die as a Shaheed [martyr],” according to the allegations.

Khan’s friend allegedly made it to Syria and ISIL with the assistance of Khan and the foreign terrorist fighter facilitator.  Khan had been living in Australia with a relative and made it to Istanbul, Turkey, where he was to meet up with his friend in their quest to join ISIL, according to the complaint.  However, Khan’s family sent him false information regarding his mother’s health and he was deceived into returning home to Texas.

If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison.  A conviction also carries a possible $250,000 fine.

A complaint is merely a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Ferko and Alamdar Hamdani of the Southern District of Texas, as well as Trial Attorneys Josh Parecki and Keith Parrella of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT OFFERS REWARDS FOR FOUR ISIL TERRORISTS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
05/05/2015 02:17 PM EDT
Rewards for Justice - Reward Offers for Information on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Terrorists
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 5, 2015

The U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice Program is offering rewards for information on four key leaders of the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Secretary of State has authorized rewards of up to $7 million for information on ‘Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli; up to $5 million each for information on Abu Mohammed al-Adnani and Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili; and up to $3 million for information on Tariq Bin-al-Tahar Bin al Falih al-‘Awni al-Harzi.

Established in 2004 as “al-Qaida in Iraq” and later known as the “Islamic State of Iraq,” ISIL has recruited thousands of followers from across the globe to fight in Iraq and Syria, where ISIL members continue to commit gross, systematic human rights abuses, including mass executions, persecution of individuals and entire communities on the basis of their identity, killing and maiming of children, rape, and numerous other atrocities.

In April 2013, ISIL’s current leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Du’a, publicly declared that the Islamic State of Iraq was operating under the moniker of ISIL. ISIL has since asserted publicly that it is the true inheritor of Usama bin Ladin’s legacy.

‘Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli is a senior ISIL official who rejoined ISIL following his release from prison in early 2012. He traveled to Syria where he has worked with an ISIL network. He originally joined al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) in 2004 and served as AQI leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s deputy and as AQI emir of Mosul, Iraq. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated al-Qaduli as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224 on May 14, 2014.

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, whose birth name is Taha Sobhi Falaha, is a senior leader of and official spokesman for ISIL. He is the main conduit for the dissemination of ISIL messages, including its declaration of ISIL’s creation of an Islamic caliphate. In public statements, al-Adnani has repeatedly called for attacks against Westerners and has vowed “defeat” for the United States. The U.S. Department of State designated al-Adnani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on August 18, 2014.

Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili has served as a senior ISIL commander and Shura Council member. Batirashvili has overseen an ISIL prison facility in al-Tabqa where ISIL possibly held foreign hostages, has worked closely with ISIL’s financial section, and has managed ISIL operations in the Manbij area of Syria. In May 2013, he was appointed ISIL’s northern commander of operations in Syria’s Aleppo, al-Raqqah, Latakia, and northern Idlib provinces. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Batirashvili as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on September 24, 2014.

Tariq Bin-al-Tahar Bin al Falih al-‘Awni al-Harzi was one of the first terrorists to join ISIL and has served as an ISIL official operating in Syria. He has helped to raise funds from Gulf-based donors for ISIL and has recruited and facilitated the travel of ISIL fighters. He was named ISIL’s leader for the border region between Syria and Turkey. As of late 2013, al-Harzi was chief of ISIL’s suicide bombers, overseeing ISIL’s suicide bomber facilitation pipeline. Al-Harzi also has procured and shipped weapons from Libya and Syria for ISIL operations in Iraq. On September 24, 2014, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated al-Harzi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.