DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

Chief Warrant Officer Jacob M. Sims, 36, of Juneau, Alaska, died Oct. 27 in Logar Province, Afghanistan, as a result of wounds sustained when he was involved in a helicopter crash. He was assigned to 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The incident is under investigation.

For more information, media may contact the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Public Affairs Office, 910-494-1589.

Uzbek Citizen Sentenced to 15 Years for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Terrorists

Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 27, a citizen of Uzbekistan and resident of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Dana Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Rohde of the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office and Commissioner James P. O’Neill of the NYPD made the announcement, after sentencing by U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz, II.

“The defendant had a clear desire to wage violence on behalf of ISIS, and was determined to do so, whether on U.S. soil or abroad,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Boente.  “Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement, the defendant was stopped at JFK International Airport before his plans came to fruition, and with this sentence he will be held accountable.  Stemming the flow of foreign fighters and defending our nation against the threat of terrorism remains the highest priority of the National Security Division.”

“Today’s sentence holds Juraboev to account for his plans to join ISIS and engage in violent jihad overseas or carry out a terrorist attack in the United States if he was unable to travel to Syria,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Rohde.  “This Office will continue to work tirelessly in collaboration with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York to protect our city from terrorist attacks and prevent extremists from travelling abroad to join foreign terrorist organizations.”

“As a Brooklyn resident, Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev posted comments on an ISIS website in August 2014 about his desire to be a martyr and his willingness to kill President Obama,” stated Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney.  “Over the next few months, Juraboev and his co-conspirators continued to ramp up their allegiance to the terrorist group by discussing travel to Syria and proposals to wage violent jihad here in the United States.  Juraboev ultimately purchased a plane ticket to travel to Syria, an act in furtherance of his terrorist plans and intentions.  Those plans were thwarted and ended with today’s sentence, resulting in serious prison time.”

“The defendant in this case lived in Brooklyn while making plans to travel to Syria to support a designed terrorist organization,” stated Commissioner O’Neill.  “If that was not successful, the defendant schemed of bombing Coney Island or killing the President of the United States.  My thanks to the detectives, agents, prosecutors and federal judge whose work resulted in today’s sentence.”

According to previous court filings, in August 2014, Juraboev posted a threat on an Uzbek-language website to kill President Obama in an act of martyrdom on behalf of ISIS.  In subsequent interviews by federal agents, Juraboev stated his belief in ISIS’s terrorist agenda, including the establishment by force of an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria.  Juraboev stated that he wanted to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of ISIS but lacked the means to travel.  He added that, if he were unable to travel, he would engage in an act of martyrdom on U.S. soil if ordered to do so by ISIS, such as killing the President or planting a bomb on Coney Island.

During the next several months, Juraboev and a co-conspirator discussed plans to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of ISIS, culminating in Juraboev’s purchase on Dec. 27, 2014, of a ticket to travel from John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, to Istanbul, Turkey, on March 29, 2015.

The U.S. government intends to seek the defendant’s removal to Uzbekistan upon completion of his sentence of imprisonment.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Solomon, Douglas M. Pravda, Peter W. Baldwin and David K. Kessler of the Eastern District of New York, and Trial Attorney Steven Ward of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case.

American Sentenced to 20 Years for Joining ISIS

Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Dana J. Boente, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.

“The evidence at trial demonstrated that Mohamad Khweis is an unpredictable and dangerous person who was radicalized towards violent jihad,” said Mr. Boente.  “This office, along with the National Security Division and our investigative partners, are committed to tracking down anyone who provides or attempts to provide material support to a terrorist organization.”

“Today's sentencing of Mohamad Khweis demonstrates the relentless efforts of the FBI and our partners within the Joint Terrorism Task Force, whom work 24/7 to identify individuals who pose a risk or harm to U.S. persons or interests,” said Mr. Vale.  “Khweis purposefully traveled overseas with the intent to join ISIS in support of the terrorist group's efforts to conduct operations and execute attacks to further their radical ideology.  Khweis recognized that ISIS uses violence in its expansion of its caliphate and he committed to serving as a suicide bomber.”

Khweis was convicted by a federal jury on June 7.  According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Khweis left the United States in mid-December 2015, and ultimately crossed into Syria through the Republic of Turkey in late December 2015.  Before leaving, Khweis strategically planned his travel.  Using a sophisticated scheme of tradecraft, Khweis purposefully traveled to other countries first before entering Turkey to conceal his final destination.  During his travel to the Islamic State, he used numerous encrypted devices to conceal his activity, and downloaded several applications on his phone that featured secure messaging or anonymous web browsing.  Khweis used these applications to communicate with ISIS facilitators to coordinate and secure his passage to the Islamic State.

After arriving in Syria, Khweis stayed at a safe house with other ISIS recruits in Raqqa and filled out ISIS intake forms, which included his name, age, skills, specialty before jihad and status as a fighter.  When Khweis joined ISIS, he agreed to be a suicide bomber.  In February 2017, the U.S. military recovered his intake form, along with an ISIS camp roster that included Khweis’ name with 19 other ISIS fighters.

During the trial, the evidence showed that Khweis spent two and a half months as an ISIS member, traveled with ISIS fighters to multiple safe houses, participated in ISIS-directed religious training, attended ISIS lectures, constantly watched military videos with his fellow ISIS members for inspiration, frequently gave money to ISIS members and was forward deployed to Tal Afar, Iraq, before he was captured.  Kurdish Peshmerga military forces detained Khweis in March 2016.  A Kurdish Peshmerga official testified at trial that he captured Khweis on the battlefield after Khweis left an ISIS-controlled neighborhood in Tal Afar.

On cross-examination, Khweis admitted he consistently lied to United States and Kurdish officials about his involvement with ISIS, and that he omitted telling U.S. officials about another American who had trained with ISIS to conduct an attack in the United States.

Trial Attorney Raj Parekh of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.  The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force provided assistance in this case.