On Tuesday, a man was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he tried to board a flight to Doha, Qatar. His intended destination was Syria, where he planned to join ISIS and engage in terrorism .
According to a criminal complaint filed on November 6th, Syed Aman, a US citizen and a resident of Nassau County, New York, was attempting to provide support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Aman has been expressing his support for the terrorist outfit on social media posts on an ISIS online forum over the last two years. He also sent money to an individual he believed to be an ISIS operative. The money was intended to support the group's terrorist activities in Syria. Aman also made travel arrangements to travel to Syria and engage in jihad (holy war) on behalf of the organization.
Fortunately, since the beginning of October, Aman has been in contact with a confidential human source (an informant) who was working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) about his plans to join ISIS. Through his conversations, Aman expressed that he wanted to wage war in Syria and believed that it was the most important thing at the moment.
Aman expressed hatred for non-believers or "kuffar”, saying, "If you don't kill them, they will kill us and ruin the earth with decay." He also posted about his desire to kill Americans and wrote of his intentions to become a martyr or “shaheed" on behalf of ISIS.
Aman tried to purchase flight tickets to the Middle East in late October this year three times. His credit card company blocked the first two transactions, but he was successful on the third attempt.
He purchased a ticket to Bangladesh via Doha, Qatar, and was flying out of New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Aman told the FBI informant that he planned to disembark in Doha and then book a ticket to Turkey, from where he would cross into Syria to join ISIS. FBI intercepted and arrested Aman when he tried to fly out of JFK on November 5th.
He also told the informant that he would be armed with a steel pen to attack law enforcement should they attempt to stop him. The makeshift weapon was in his crossbody bag at the time of his arrest.
The FBI routinely investigates and intercepts terrorist activity. In October, another man, Michael Teekaye Jr., was arrested at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) after going through security for the same reason. A Somali ISIS fighter supposedly funded Michael's ticket out of BWI.
According to CBS News, Michael was in contact with an undercover agent. He told the agent that he was training to be part of a terror organization and wanted to join ISIS in Somalia. In the months prior, Michael was seen visiting his local gun range and training to improve his aim to take part in terrorist activities overseas.
It should be noted that Micheal has a history of mental health issues (a diagnosis of schizophrenia) and stood outside an elementary school while masked and holding a knife. When local law enforcement arrived, he told them that he wanted to fight a classmate.
After his arrest, the FBI detained him while awaiting a hearing.
