NYC man charged with trying to join Pakistani terror group

NEW YORK – A New York City man has been arrested on federal charges of trying to join a Pakistan-based terrorist group.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman says 29-year-old Jesus Wilfredo Encarnacion was arrested Thursday as he tried to board a flight to Pakistan at Kennedy Airport.

Berman says Encarnacion was trying to join the militant group Lashkar e-Taiba, which has been blamed for high-profile attacks including the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 168 people.

Prosecutors say Encarnacion went online to try to join the terrorist organization. They say he told an undercover FBI agent he was “ready to kill and die in the name of Allah.”

Encarnacion is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. It’s not clear if he has an attorney who can speak for him.