U.S. Citizen Charged with Providing Material Support to Isis And Receiving Military-Type Training at Isis Fighter Camp

Harafa Hussein Abdi Joined ISIS fighters in Somalia in 2015 and Threatened to Attack New York City in the Name of ISIS

A complaint was unsealed today charging Harafa Hussein Abdi, 41, of Minneapolis, with providing and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and receiving and conspiring to receive military-type training from ISIS. Abdi, a U.S. citizen, was recently taken into custody overseas and was transported to the United States yesterday. Abdi will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo in Manhattan federal court later today.

“As stated in the complaint, Mr. Abdi left his country to join ISIS, trained as a fighter and actively aided the group’s propaganda efforts to spread its vile ideology,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “There is no higher priority for the National Security Division than to protect Americans from terrorist organizations and we will work tirelessly to find and hold accountable those who would join these groups to do our people harm wherever they may be.”

“As alleged, Harafa Hussein Abdi, a citizen of this country, traveled from Minnesota to join a group of ISIS fighters in Somalia,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “While training with ISIS fighters in Somalia, Abdi allegedly carried an AK-47, threatened to attack civilians in New York City, and encouraged others to carry out such attacks. Our law enforcement partners have relentlessly pursued this investigation to ensure the disruption of Abdi’s alleged plans to wage terror on our shores and bring Abdi to an American court to face justice. No matter how long it takes, this office is steadfast in its commitment to investigate, disrupt and prosecute terrorist threats against Americans.”

“Abdi allegedly trained in an ISIS camp, encouraged others to fight on behalf of ISIS, and sent social media messages  about committing violent acts in New York City,” said Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “The FBI works tirelessly to protect the American people against acts of terrorism and will hold accountable all those who break our laws and endanger our citizens. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners both here and overseas to uncover and disrupt terrorist activity.”

As alleged in the complaint, Abdi, moved from Minnesota to Somalia in 2015. Once there, he joined a group of ISIS fighters at an ISIS training camp in the Puntland region of Somalia. During his time with the group, Abdi regularly carried an AK-47 assault rifle and received training on how to use it. In addition, Abdi worked in the ISIS group’s “media” wing, where he filmed footage for distribution by a pro-ISIS media outlet.

In social media communications during his time at the ISIS camp, Abdi described how he had left the United States and joined the “Islamic state.” Abdi also stated that he had made “hijra,” an Arabic term used by ISIS supporters to refer to traveling overseas to join ISIS and engage in jihad. Abdi also sent a photograph of himself carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, as depicted below:
Photo of the defendant carrying an AK-47 assault rifle

In or about January 2017, Abdi sent an audio clip of rap lyrics in which he expressed support for ISIS and described multiple acts of violence, including shooting and bombing individuals in New York City. Specifically, Abdi stated, “hollow tips put a hole in your Catholic vest, and chop his head off let it rest on his Catholic chest.” Abdi further stated, “We going to carry on jihad”; “Fly through America on our way to shoot New York up. They trying to shut this thing. We ain’t going. We going to come blow New York up.” Abdi sent the audio clip to at least 20 other social media users and included messages with the audio clip, such as “Fighting back the kuffar who’s at war with Muslims if [that] is not islam then I don’t know wats Islam.”

Abdi left the ISIS camp in 2017 after his relationship with the ISIS group’s leadership deteriorated. After being jailed by the group, Abdi escaped and traveled to East Africa, where he was arrested by law enforcement authorities. In subsequent Mirandized interviews with FBI personnel, Abdi admitted that he had joined the training camp, which was affiliated with a known ISIS leader in Somalia. Abdi also identified himself in an ISIS propaganda video that he helped to film at the training camp in which Abdi carried an AK-47 assault rifle, promoted ISIS and urged others to join and fight on its behalf. In the video, Abdi said, “We thank almighty God for making us His soldiers and chose us to be among the Khilafa troops,” and “So do not stay behind, brother, and get on this caravan…. Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject Faith fight in the cause of Evil.” Abdi also admitted that he was trained on and regularly carried an AK-47 assault rifle and practiced shooting the AK-47 in the Somali wilderness outside the camp.

Abdi is charged with (i) conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; (ii) providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; (iii) conspiring to receive military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; and (iv) receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine or both.

The FBI’s New York Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case. The National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, Justice’s Department’s Office of International Affairs, FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, the FBI’s International Operations Division and the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas S. Bradley for the Southern District of New York is prosecuting the case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Kevin Nunnally of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Wormuth Stresses Whole-of-Government Approach to ISIL

By Jim Garamone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2015 – The campaign in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is a whole-of-government approach, the undersecretary of defense for policy stressed today during a Center for International Studies military strategy forum here.

Christine E. Wormuth is the latest official to emphasize that ISIL cannot be defeated by military power alone. Last week, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee that of the nine lines of effort in the strategy, the Defense Department has only two of them: denying ISIL safe haven in Iraq and Syria, and building partner capacity in Iraq and Syria.

“Ultimately,” Wormuth said, “we won’t have a lasting defeat of ISIL unless we leverage all different parts of the U.S. government and coalition governments … to bring the fight to ISIL in terms of countering its financing, in terms of defeating its messaging, in terms of stopping the flow of foreign fighters that are coming from countries around the world.”

Tactical Results

The undersecretary reported on DoD’s efforts against the terror group. To date, she said, there have been more than 5,000 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

“This campaign has produced some tactical results,” she said. “We have limited ISIL’s freedom of movement, we have constrained its ability to reinforce its fighters and supply lines, and we’ve degraded its command and control.”

But an air campaign is not going to defeat ISIL, she added. “We need to have an accompanying ground campaign as well,” she said. “We’ve been working particularly hard in Iraq to get that campaign going.”

She spoke of an operation in northern Syria that has put tremendous pressure on ISIL’s headquarters in Raqqa. “Events like this demonstrate that when we can find credible forces on the ground and pair them with coalition airpower and work in a coordinated way, we can actually put the hurt to ISIL,” Wormuth said.

Effort Depends on Local Forces

Local forces are key to this effort, the undersecretary said, noting that as of June 30, about 8,800 Iraqi army soldiers and Kurdish peshmerga fighters have gone through training courses. “We also trained about 2,000 counterterrorism personnel – the more elite forces in Iraq,” she said. “We now have coming through the pipeline another 4,000 soldiers, 600 of those counterterrorism personnel.”

Wormuth acknowledged that the train-and-equip program for Syria is experiencing challenges, and only 60 Syrians have been trained to date. But the program received funding only seven months ago, she said, and since then, U.S. officials have had to negotiate sites for the training, assign the personnel, put the vetting process in place and work with partners.

“We started bringing our first recruits to the training sites in May,” she said. “A number of them did not meet our very vigorous screening standards. … A good number of the recruits dropped out when they realized we were serious about having this program fighting ISIL, as opposed to fighting the Assad regime.”

Now, some 7,000 Syrian volunteers have stepped forward, Wormuth said. “I think that speaks to the fact that there is a lot of potential for this program,” she added.