ISIS Terrorist Group: U.S. Department of Justice Charges Six for Providing Support, 'Conspiring' With ISIS
The Justice Department has charged six people of Bosnian background with providing supplies and money to terrorist groups overseas. Five of the people have been arrested, while the sixth remains at large overseas.
The Justice Department released a statement on Friday announcing charges had been filed against Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, 40, his wife Sedina Unkic Hodzic, 35, and Armin Harcevic, 37, all of St. Louis County, Missouri; Nihad Rosic, 26, of Utica, New York; Mediha Medy Salkicevic, 34 of Schiller Park, Illinois; and Jasminka Ramic, 42, of Rockford, Illinois. They were charged with "conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists, and with providing material support to terrorists." Hodzic and Rosic were also charged with conspiring to kill persons in a foreign country.
"Today's charges and arrests underscore our resolve to identify, thwart, and hold accountable individuals within the United States who seek to provide material support to terrorists and terrorist organizations operating in Syria and Iraq," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin said.
Carlin said his agency will continue to work against ISIS by finding those supporting the terror organization with money and supplies.
All the arrested are Bosnian immigrants. Three are naturalized American citizens, and the remaining three have legal or refugee status.
According to the indictment, the accused sent military surplus goods, tactical boots, firearms accessories, rifles scopes, among other things to a man named Abdullah Ramo Pazara, who traveled from St. Louis to Syria via Bosnia to fight with ISIS in early 2013. The group also collected money and used PayPal and Western Union to transfer it to third parties in Bosnia and Turkey.
The group used Facebook and other social media platforms to communicate details about their conspiracy. The indictment also explains Rosic attempted to board a flight and a travel to Syria to join the fight but does not specify if he traveled and joined Pazara.
"We are operating under the assumption that Pazara was killed in 2014," an official told NBC News.
Each count of conspiring to provide and providing material support to terrorists carries a 15-year prison sentence and/or fines up to $250,000. Plotting to kill or maim persons abroad carries a sentence of life in prison, according to the Justice Department statement.
"This case underscores the clear need for continued vigilance in rooting out those who seek to join or aid terrorist groups that threaten our national security," FBI Special Agent in Charge William Woods said.
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