New York man faces new charges of attempting to provide support to Islamic State group

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – An upstate New York man accused of plotting to kill members of the U.S. military and others faces new charges that he tried to aid the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

Mufid Elfgeeh, 30, of Rochester, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of attempting to provide material support and resources to the group that has been designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

According to court documents, Elfgeeh tried to assist three individuals in travelling to Syria to join and fight with the extremist group in 2013 and early 2014. Prosecutors said two of the individuals were co-operating with the FBI.

“Disrupting and holding accountable those who seek to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations is and shall remain a critical national security priority,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin.

Elfgeeh was arrested earlier this year by members of the FBI’s Rochester Joint Terrorism Task Force after federal authorities said he bought two handguns and two silencers as part of a plan to kill members of the U.S. armed forces returning from war, as well as Shiites in the Rochester area.

The investigation included linking Elfgeeh’s home computer to tweets from alias Twitter accounts expressing support for al-Qaida, violent holy war and Sunni insurgent groups in Syria, according to court papers.

The FBI said it had been investigating Elfgeeh, a naturalized U.S. citizen, since early last year.

Information on Elfgeeh’s lawyer was not immediately available.