U.S. charges sixth man in alleged N.Y.-N.J. Islamic State plot

By Alex Wilts

(Reuters) - A New Jersey man was arrested on Monday on charges of conspiring to support the militant group Islamic State, becoming the sixth man to be arrested in New York and New Jersey since June as part of what authorities have said is a broader plot.

Nader Saadeh, 20, a former resident of Rutherford, New Jersey, viewed Islamic State propaganda online and traveled to Jordan in May in an effort to join Islamic State, the U.S. Department of Justice said. He is expected to appear in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday.

His brother, Alaa Saadeh, was arrested on June 29.

Both Saadeh brothers were in frequent contact with Samuel Topaz, another New Jersey man, and with Munther Omar Saleh, a college student from Queens, according to authorities.

Saleh was arrested June 13 when he and an unnamed man, who was also taken into custody, charged at a surveillance vehicle that had been following them in New York.

Topaz was arrested on June 17. The same day, authorities arrested Fareed Mumuni, 21, at his New York home after he attacked an FBI agent with a knife during the execution of a search warrant.

In recent months, U.S. authorities have charged numerous individuals with providing support for Islamic State or conspiring to do so, often citing the militant group's extensive online propaganda as a factor in their radicalization.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Writing by Alex Wilts in Washington; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Bernadette Baum)