NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the arrest of a man accused of trying to aid the Islamic State group (all times local):
9 p.m.
Prosecutors say a New York home health care aide who unwittingly planned a trip to Syria under the eye of law enforcement authorities has been charged with trying to help the Islamic State group.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim says Saddam Mohamed Raishani was arrested Wednesday night as he prepared to board a plane at John F. Kennedy International Airport to Portugal to begin his travel.
Raishani was detained without bail after a brief initial court appearance Thursday. His federal defender hasn’t commented.
Prosecutors say Raishani wanted to join and train with the militant group after helping another man get there. They say he “acted on his own desire to wage violent jihad” and planned “to leave his family and life in New York City for the battlefields of the Middle East.”
The head of the FBI’s New York office says the arrest demonstrates “the nature of the terrorism threat and its reach” into U.S. communities.
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1:10 p.m.
A New York City man has been charged with trying to aid the Islamic State group.
The arrest of Saddam Mohamed Raishani was announced Thursday.
U.S. Attorney Joon Kim says Raishani was arrested Wednesday as he tried to board a plane at Kennedy Airport to go to Syria. Authorities say Raishani wanted to join the militant group after helping another man get there.
It was unclear who will represent Raishani at an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court.
Authorities say Raishani’s plans were foiled because he unwittingly contacted a person who was a confidential source working at the direction of law enforcement.
That person, authorities say, introduced him to an undercover law enforcement officer who posed as someone who also wanted to fight for the Islamic State group.
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