Feds: Minneapolis Man in Syria Has Been Recruiting Friends to ISIS
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iStock/Thinkstock(MINNEAPOLIS) — A young Minneapolis man who successfully slipped out of the United States last year to join ISIS in Syria has been working to recruit his friends to the terrorist cause, federal authorities revealed on Monday.
Abdi Nur, 18, flew overseas in May 2014, eventually making his way to Syria, officials said.
“From his locale in Syria, Nur recruits individuals and provides assistance to those who want to leave Minneapolis to fight abroad,” according to court documents filed Monday as part of a 10-month FBI investigation.
The FBI have charged six Minneapolis men with trying to join Nur in Syria, joining like-minded friends connected through Facebook and other social media.
According to what Nur’s family told federal authorities, he started to become more religious in the months before his departure.
When the FBI identified Nur and realized he may be looking to join the terror group, Nur had already boarded a plane in Minneapolis only hours earlier, authorities said.
Then in late May, a “close relative” reported him as missing to police and showed authorities messages the pair had exchanged online.
Nur said he had gone “to the brothers” and “I’m not coming back,” according to court documents.
The relative implored him to change his mind, saying “going to kill poor people is not the answer.”
But Nur was undeterred, allegedly responding: “I want [heaven] for all of us.”
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