Bangladeshi IS supporter charged with murder plot of US military member

Washington [US], Oct. 4 (ANI): The US Justice Department has said that a Bangladeshi citizen has been charged with plotting to kill a member of the US military on behalf of the Islamic State. "Nelash Mohamed Das, 24, a citizen of Bangladesh residing in Hyattsville, Maryland, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in connection with a plan to kill a U.S. military member," the US Department of Justice said in a statement. The charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI's Baltimore Field Office. Das had an initial appearance at 2:00 p.m. on Monday in the US District Court in Greenbelt and was ordered to be detained pending a detention hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, at 3:15p.m. The complaint was filed on October 1, 2016. "Nelash Mohamed Das is alleged to have plotted to kill a U.S. service member on behalf of ISIL," said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. "Individuals intent on carrying out violence in the name of foreign terrorist organizations pose one of the most concerning threats that law enforcement faces today and stopping these offenders before they are able to act is our highest priority," Carlin added. According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Das was admitted to the U.S. in 1995 and is a legal permanent resident. The affidavit alleges that from September 28, 2015, to early 2016, Das used the social media to express his support for ISIL, including support for terrorist attacks in Paris, France, and San Bernardino, California. During May 2016, Das met a confidential human source (CHS) working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, whom he thought to be a like-minded supporter of ISIL. On May 24, 2016, Das told the CHS that he knew people overseas in Al Dawla (a common name for ISIL) and communicated with them through online communications. On July 23, Das told the CHS that he wanted to kill a particular military member who lived in Prince George's County, Maryland, and whose identifying information he had obtained the prior year from a list posted online by ISIL, said the statement. Das faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. (ANI)