Authorities intervened and arrested a Colorado teenager at the Denver airport for allegedly trying to join the terrorist group ISIS.
Eighteen-year-old Humzah Mashkoor was arrested at Denver International Airport, with the arrest marking a climatic development in a two-year FBI investigation into Mashkoor, according to DOJ.
According to court documents, the teen was arrested on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS and planned to travel to the United Arab Emirates. His alleged final destination was Afghanistan or Syria, where he intended to serve as a fighter for the group.
ABC News reported that the FBI's Denver Field Office first interacted with Mashkoor on social media when he was 16. Undercover agents reportedly engaged with him online, where he used the pseudonym “Humzah Afghan.”
Mashkoor detailed his support for ISIS, including sharing execution videos and discussing his desire to work with Islamic extremists.
Mashkoor's statements to undercover officers highlighted a shift in his allegiances from the Taliban to ISIS, particularly following the 2021 Kabul airport bombing. His alleged readiness to commit violent acts and his support for ISIS's objectives were evident in his communications communications, ABC News added.
“Are you ready?” he allegedly wrote to one undercover FBI agent about his intended trip to Afghanistan, the outlet reported. “Once we go there's no turning back… We leave behind everything… Our family's… Our homes… Our friends… For the sake of Allah. … Life won't be easy, we will be strangers moving from place to place… Hated by the whole worlds.”
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