Beavercreek man attempted to join ISIS-K; sentenced to prison

WHIO Staff
·2 min read
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Beavercreek man attempted to join ISIS-K; sentenced to prison

A Beavercreek man prosecutors said was arrested at a Columbus airport while trying to travel to Afghanistan to join ISIS-K has been sentenced to prison.

Naser Almadaoji, 23, an Iraqi-born United States citizen, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations in Nov. 2021. On Wednesday, Almadaoji was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release.

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Prosecutors said Almadaoji bought a plane ticket to travel on Oct. 24, 2018 and was arrested after he checked in at John Glenn International Airport once he got his boarding pass.

“The defendant intended to travel to Astana, Kazahkstan, where he planned to be smuggled into Afghanistan so that he could join and receive military training from ISIS-K in support of both that terrorist group and ISIS,” prosecutors previously told News Center 7. “Almadaoji explained to an individual whom he believed to be an ISIS supporter that he wanted “weapons experts training, planning and executing, hit and run, capturing high value targets, ways to break into homes and avoid security guards. That type of training.”

Almadaoji began making travel plans in September 2018, prosecutors said.

Prior to making travel plans to join ISIS-K in October, Almadaoji previously traveled to Egypt and Jordan in February 2018 for the purpose of joining the ISIS affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula.

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“Almadaoji told an individual posing as an ISIS supporter online about his proposed plot to start a conflict in the United States between the federal government and anti-government militias,” prosecutors said.

Almadaoji asked for a guide on how to make a car bomb, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Almadaoji also told the purported ISIS supporter that he was “always willing” to assist with “projects” in the United States,” prosecutors said. “Almadaoji recorded and sent a video of himself wearing a headscarf and pledging allegiance to the leader of ISIS.”