A US citizen and New York resident has been charged with attempting to offer material assistance to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham Following his detention on Tuesday
According to federal authorities, Syed Aman, a US citizen and Nassau County, N.Y., resident, attempted to board a flight heading for Doha, Qatar, when he was apprehended at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, N.Y.
According to federal prosecutors, Aman attempted to fly to Syria to join ISIS and indicated his support for the organization while participating in an online ISIS group forum and posting on social media in 2023 and 2024.
Aman allegedly provided money to someone he believed to be an ISIS operative in order to fund ISIS activities in Syria.
Aman also allegedly planned to travel to Syria to carry out jihad on behalf of ISIS and has been in communication with an FBI informant since the beginning of October.
The informant stated that Aman expressed hatred towards individuals who “deny the path of Allah” and advocated for their slaying to prevent them from destroying the Earth through deterioration.
Aman also allegedly made social media posts indicating his desire to kill American citizens and was researching how to become a martyr for ISIS.
Federal authorities said Aman attempted to arrange flights to the Middle East twice in late October, but his credit card provider refused to execute the transactions.
According to the FBI, he eventually booked a flight to Bangladesh via Doha, then flew from Qatar to Turkey before crossing into Syria to join ISIS.
Aman told the informant that he carried a steel pen in case he needed to assault law officers, and he was discovered carrying a metal pen when he was apprehended at JFK airport.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Aman in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.
The FBI is still probing the case against him.