Federal authorities said late Sunday that they had arrested six people in Minnesota and California in connection with an investigation into young men who have traveled or tried to travel to Syria to fight alongside ISIS.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota said the arrests were made Sunday in Minneapolis and San Diego but there is no threat to public safety. A spokesman for the Minneapolis FBI office confirmed the number of people arrested. No further details were available about the identities of the suspects or the specific charges they faced.
KMSP reported that at least three of the arrests happened in Minneapolis and at least one took place in San Diego. The station reported that three of the men arrested in Minneapolis were already known to authorities.
According to the report, the three traveled with a fourth man, 19-year-old Hamza Ahmed, to New York by bus last November, intending to go to Syria. All four were prevented from boarding a flight to Istanbul at JFK International Airport. In February, Ahmed was indicted for lying to the FBI during a terrorism investigation, conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, and attempting to provide material support. He has pleaded not guilty.
Little information had been released about Ahmed’s traveling companions. An FBI affidavit said they are all between the ages of 19 and 20 and live in the Twin Cities.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI planned a news conference at 10:30 a.m. ET Monday to announce details. Monday’s news conference was billed as an announcement of a joint terrorism task force operation.
Authorities say a handful of Minnesota residents have traveled to Syria to fight with militants within the last year. At least one Minnesotan has died while fighting for ISIS.
Since 2007, more than 22 young Somali men have also traveled from Minnesota to Somalia to join the terrorist group al-Shabaab.
Four Minnesotans have already been charged in connection with supporting terror groups in Syria, including ISIS.
Fox News
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
