Long Island resident pleads guilty to attempting to join terror org.

A Long Island resident pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support and resources to Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Nusrah Front terrorists, the US Justice Department announced in a statement.With the guilty plea, the resident, Elvis Redzepagic, 30, could face up to 20 years in prison.“Redzepagic, a Long Island resident, admitted that he attempted to travel to Syria on several occasions to wage jihad on behalf of ISIS and other organizations dedicated to violence and mass destruction,” said Acting United States Attorney Mark J. Lesko. “This Office is committed to preventing the spread of terrorism by stopping individuals like the defendant in their tracks and prosecuting them before they are able to harm the United States and its allies.”Redzepagic was tracked down and arrested by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, a consortium of investigators and analysts from the FBI, NYPD and 50 other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies after attempting to travel to Syria on two separate occasions.“Redzepagic has admitted to traveling overseas to try to join and provide material support to ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front, two foreign terrorist organizations that were engaged in fighting in Syria,” said Assistant Attorney-General for National Security John C. Demers. “The threat from these terrorist organizations has not ended, and we will continue to work to stem the flow of fighters and bring to justice those who provide material support to these groups.”According to the report, in 2015, Redzepagic began corresponding with an individual that he believed to be the commander of a battalion in Syria belonging to either ISIS or the al-Nusrah Front, in order to gain entry into the terrorist organization and the battalion the correspondent commanded.The Justice Department notes that Redzepagic made “many unsuccessful attempts” to cross over the Syrian border from Turkey, after traveling later that same year to join the insurgence and “engage in violent jihad.”Following his failures in Turkey, Redzepagic decided to travel to Jordan in the summer of 2016, but was detained and deported after attempting to cross the border.The report also cited Facebook posts shared by Redzepagic in 2015, claiming that “‘jihad’ is when ‘you fight for the sake of God’ and ‘die for the sake of Allah.'” He claimed that he traveled to Turkey in order to “perform Jihad and join Jabhat al-Nusra,” adding that “there will come a time where people will only know to say Allahu Akbar.”Additionally, in interviews with investigators Redzepagic said that when he went to travel to Syria, he was “prepared to strap a bomb to himself'” to show the extent of his commitment.
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