US authorities have arrested and charged six men in the US state of Minnesota with conspiring to support the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
The six men allegedly had plans to travel to Syria where they would join and fight with the group.
Court documents say the men tried to fly from airports in San Diego and New York City, but were stopped before doing so.
Officials say at least one person from Minnesota has died fighting with IS.
Authorities say the six men met secretly to develop their travel plans, which included flying to countries near Syria from airports in the US cities of Minneapolis, San Diego or New York City.
The men, who authorities consider to be friends, did not have plans to carry out an attack in the United States, prosecutors believe.
Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman, 19, Adnan Abdihamid Farah, 19, Hanad Mustafe Musse, 19, and Guled Ali Omar, 20, were arrested in Minneapolis on Sunday.
Abdurahman Yasin Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, 21, drove from Minneapolis to San Diego, California, before their arrest.
Three of the arrested men had travelled to New York in November with a man who was en route to Syria and has since been indicted on charges of conspiring to support Islamic State.
“They are not confused young men, they were not easily influenced,” Minnesota US Attorney Andy Lugar said. “These were focused men who were intent on joining a terrorist organisation by any means possible.”
Leave a Reply