Two Americans Captured in Syria Returned to US for Trial

  • 7/26/2018
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Two Americans who were captured in Syria and are accused of supporting ISIS have been transferred back to the United States, the US Department of Justice announced this week. "Two US citizens, charged in separate cases with federal violations, have been transferred from the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces to US custody and transported to the US where they will soon appear in federal courts," Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said Tuesday.  The Syria Democratic Forces is a US-backed ground force that has been fighting ISIS across parts of northern and eastern Syria. Defendant Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 28, of Dearborn, Michigan is due to be arraigned in federal court in Detroit on Wednesday on charges of helping ISIS from April 2015 to June 2018. "The indictment alleges that, for a substantial period of time, defendant Musaibli provided material support to ISIS, one of the most violent terrorist organizations in the world," US Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement. "We will vigorously prosecute anyone who provides, or even attempts to provide, support to terrorists." It was not immediately known if Musaibli had an attorney. Samantha Elhassani, meanwhile, has been charged in Indiana with making false statements to the FBI. She is due in court for an initial hearing at an unconfirmed date. The Justice Department said Elhassani was accompanied by her four minor children, all US citizens now in the custody of the Indiana Department of Child Services. "Indiana DCS will make any necessary determinations regarding their custody, safety and well-being," it said. Elhassanis son appeared in ISIS propaganda videos and her husband was an IS sniper before he was killed in a drone strike, according to reports. Commander Sean Robertson, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Defense Department provided aircraft and aircrew to fly the detainees from Syria to the United States. US officials have previously said the SDF have captured hundreds of ISIS fighters, many of them from other countries that have little or no interest in allowing them home. Meanwhile, the US-led coalition fighting ISIS said on Tuesday it has killed high-value leaders from the group who were planning attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, the United States and Sweden. On April 24, a coalition air strike killed Syrian-based ISIS member Munawwar al-Mutayari in Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalition said in a statement. He had been planning attacks on Saudi Arabia. Soufiane Makouh, a Belgian foreign fighter who traveled to Syria to plan attacks against the United States and its interests, was killed by an air strike on June 2. The coalition said that on June 12 an air strike killed Simak, identified as an ISIS intelligence officer linked to a cell plotting attacks in Sweden.

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