2 Arizona men from Somalia plead guilty to conspiring to travel to join ISIS

PHOENIX – Two Arizona men pleaded guilty to conspiring to travel to the Middle East to fight for ISIS, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said on Wednesday.

From late 2018 to July 2019, Ahmed Mahad Mohamed, 26, and Abdi Yemeni Hussein, 25, worked together to travel to Egypt with the goal to smuggle themselves into the ISIS controlled area of the Sinai Peninsula.

In August 2018, Mohamed began communicating with ISIS supporters online and voiced that he and Hussein wanted to join the Islamic State group. In his communication with supporters, Mohamed voiced wanting to be “the beheading guy” and martyr himself. He said that it was his dream to go to Syria and ‘fight jihad.”

Hussein spoke to Mohamed about their only option being reaching ISIS or going to jail. He suggested attacking the White House if they were prevented to travel.

By June 2019 the two had begun making travel arrangements by selling their cars and buying a plane ticket from Tucson to Cairo.

On July 26, 2019, both men were arrested by the FBI at the Tucson International Airport after going through a security screening and heading to their departure gate. Mohamed was detained with $10,000 to use for travel expenses and buying firearms.

Mohamed and Hussein pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. A conviction carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or both. The two men agreed to a judicial order of removal which will have them go to Somalia for any term of imprisonment.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct.11.

The investigation was carried out by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

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