Defense

Feds charge 6 with providing support to ISIS

by Meghashyam Mali - 02/06/15 9:53 PM ET

Federal prosecutors on Friday indicted six U.S. residents for allegedly providing assistance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The suspects are charged with conspiring to and providing material support to terrorists.

{mosads}The Justice Department identified them as Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, his wife Sedina Unkic Hodzic, and Armin Harcevic from St. Louis County, Mo., Nihad Rosic of Utica, N.Y., Mediha Medy Salkicevic of Schiller Park, Ill., and Jasminka Ramic of Rockford, Ill.

Zijad Hodzic and Nihad Rosic are also charged with “conspiring to kill or maim persons in a foreign country,” according to a statement from the Justice Department.

The suspects are accused of sending firearms, and other military equipment, including clothing and rifle scopes, to Bosnian native Abdullah Ramo Pazara, whom authorities say left St. Louis to join ISIS in Syria. The suspects also used Western Union and Pay Pal to transfer money.

Pazara left to join the terror group in May 2013, according to reports. It is believed that he was killed sometime in 2014, a U.S. official told NBC News.

“Today’s charges and arrests underscore our resolve to identify, thwart, and hold accountable individuals within the United States who seek to provide material support to terrorists and terrorist organizations operating in Syria and Iraq,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin in a statement.

The case was investigated by an FBI joint terrorism task force based in St. Louis, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security, and local St. Louis law enforcement.

The DOJ identified the suspects, five of whom are in the U.S. and in custody, as Bosnian immigrants. Three are naturalized U.S. citizens, while the others have refugee states. One of the suspects is still at large overseas.

If convicted on the support charges, the suspects could receive 15 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 on each count. Conspiring to kill or harm persons abroad carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, praised the FBI for the arrest in a statement, pledging that “terrorists and their enablers will continue to receive the unwavering attention of law enforcement and the intelligence community.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the committee’s top Democrat, echoed that sentiment in a statement of his own and said the situation underscores the fact that “the struggle against ISIL is a global one.”

“Even here, ISIL’s barbarism and worship of death has found its adherents, some of whom have actually gone to the region to join this cult of death, while others — as in this case — have seemingly sought to send them material support,” he said.

“America cannot relax its vigilance, and Chairman Nunes and I will be looking for ways that we can enhance our ability to find and stop Americans who seek to aid these killers.”

Ben Kamisar contributed. This story was updated at 9:33 a.m.

Tags Adam Schiff DOJ ISIS