Ohio Man Sentenced for Providing Material Support to Terrorists, Making False Statements to Authorities

Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, 26, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced on Jan. 22, to 22 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for training with terrorists overseas and leading a terrorist plot.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman for the Southern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI’s Cincinnati Division, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien and the FBI’s Columbus Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Michael H Watson.

“Mohamud traveled to Syria to train and fight with the designated terrorist organization al-Nusrah Front. He then returned to the United States with the intent to conduct an attack here,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Boente.  “Thanks to the tremendous efforts of law enforcement, Mohamud was arrested and his plans were thwarted.  One of the National Security Division’s highest priorities remains identifying and neutralizing the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters who return to the United States.”

“Mohamud engaged in terrorist activity overseas, which included training and fighting with the Al-Nusrah Front, a designated foreign terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Glassman. “He then returned to the United States with a plan to do grievous harm, recruited others to help him in his homeland plot, and then planned and prepared for attacks in the United States. Once caught, he orchestrated a cover-up beginning with his material misstatements to the FBI. The seriousness of his actions cannot be overstated and today’s sentence illustrates that.”

“Mohamud was originally arrested and indicted in state court by my office and a $2 million bond was set that maintained him in custody.  Those state charges were dismissed when the federal prosecution commenced and Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Gibson was added to the federal team as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney,” said Franklin County Prosecutor O’Brien.  “This case illustrates the effectiveness of the cooperative effort in the Columbus area to combat terrorism.”

A federal grand jury charged Mohamud in April 2015 with one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to terrorists, one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization – namely, al-Nusrah Front – and one count of making false statements to the FBI involving international terrorism.  Mohamud pleaded guilty to those charges in August 2015.  The plea was sealed until June 2017 because of an ongoing investigation.

According to court documents, Mohamud is a Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen, who, in 2014, obtained a U.S. passport and one-way ticket to Greece.  During his travel in April 2014, Mohamud did not board his connecting flight to Athens, Greece.  Rather, during his layover in Istanbul, Turkey, he completed pre-arranged plans to cross the border into Syria.  In Syria, Mohamud received training from al-Nusrah Front, a terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda.

According to a statement of facts supporting Mohamud’s guilty plea, while in Syria, Mohamud trained with al-Nusrah Front on fitness, and on the use of weapons and tactics. Mohamud also engaged in a firefight and expressed his desire to die fighting in Syria.

Mohamud returned to the United States after his brother was killed fighting for al-Nusrah Front.

The statement of facts details that after returning to the United States, Mohamud planned to obtain weapons in order to kill military officers, other government employees or people in uniform.  Evidence seized by the FBI indicates that Mohamud researched places in the U.S. to carry out such plans.

Mr. Boente and Mr. Glassman commended the cooperative investigation of the FBI’s JTTF and numerous local partners.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Squires, Jessica H. Kim and Salvador Dominguez, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Gibson of the Southern District of Ohio; and Trial Attorneys Bridget Behling and Lolita Lukose of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 19, 2018 — U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria between Jan. 12 and Jan. 18, conducting 63 strikes consisting of 102 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the most recent strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

On Jan. 18 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an indirect fire weapon, a fighting position and an ISIS line of communication.

On Jan. 17 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted six strikes consisting of 14 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying two logistics centers, three ISIS lines of communication, a heavy machine gun, three fighting positions, an ISIS-held building, a tunnel, two weapons caches and an ISIS supply route.

On Jan. 16 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of four engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an unmanned aerial vehicle, an indirect fire position and an ISIS headquarters.

On Jan. 15 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 17 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an explosive hazard, an ISIS vehicle, a headquarters center, two logistics centers, an indirect fire weapon, an ISIS fighting position, a headquarters building and an ISIS line of communication.

On Jan. 14 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 11 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying two pieces of ISIS engineering equipment, a fighting position, an ISIS vehicle, an indirect fire weapon, two logistics centers, two vehicle-borne bomb factories, an ISIS line of communication and a UAV.

On Jan. 13 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 13 strikes consisting of 24 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying two ISIS supply routes, two ISIS motorcycles, two weapons caches, four fighting positions, a VBIED factory and an ISIS logistics center.

On Jan. 12 near Abu Kamal in Syria, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes consisting of 17 engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS supply route, an indirect fire weapon, a fighting position, an ISIS headquarters and a UAV.

Strikes in Iraq

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on Jan. 18, 17 and 14.

On Jan. 16 near Rutbah in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets, destroying three ISIS underground facilities and a generator.

On Jan. 15 near Rutbah in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets, destroying two ISIS weapons caches.

On Jan. 13 near Mosul in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS tunnel.

On Jan. 12 near Tuz in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of three engagements against an ISIS tactical unit.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

Attorney General Sessions Applauds Congress for Voting to Reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act

Today Attorney General Sessions issued the following statement applauding Congress for voting to reauthorize Section 702:

“Today's vote to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is crucial to allowing us to continue to gather intelligence on foreign terrorists overseas and foil potential plots against Americans abroad and at home. I would especially like to thank the Senate and House leadership on both sides of the aisle, as well as the bipartisan efforts from those leaders on the Senate and House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees that supported and helped pass this critical legislation that gives us the tools to continue to keep the American people safe.”