Americans in three states pleaded guilty Thursday to terrorism charges involving the Islamic State (ISIL).
Alaa Saadeh, of West New York, N.J., pleaded guilty in Newark of conspiring to provide material support for a terrorist organization. Saadeh, 24, was arrested in June and charged, along with his brother Nader and two other men, with conspiracy to support ISIL by flying to Syria to join the group.
Saadeh is due to be sentenced Feb. 20. His attorney told the Associated Press her client will not cooperate with the government or testify against anyone.
In Chicago, 20-year old Mohammed Hamzah Khan pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Khan, from Bolingbrook, Ill., was arrested last year while trying to board a flight to Turkey with two younger siblings to join ISIL in Syria.
Khan’s attorney told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that he plans to request Khan, who was a teenager when arrested, be sentenced to time served and begin rehabilitation. Prosecutors will likely recommend a five-year sentence.
Mohamad Saeed Kodaimati, a naturalized American citizen from Syria, pleaded guilty Thursday to making false statements involving international terrorism. Kodaimati told the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in March that he had no ties to ISIL.
Kodaimati admitted in a San Diego court Thursday that he took part in a four month fight against the Syrian government, knew ISIL members and was part of a “sharia court” while in Syria from 2012 to 2014. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 11 and he has agreed to an eight-year prison term.