Somali Immigrant Trained with Terrorist Group, Plotted Domestic Attack

A Somali immigrant living in Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to training with a terrorist organization in Syria and plotting an attack on American soil.

Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, 25, is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia who was able to get a U.S. passport and travel to Greece in 2014. While Mohamud was supposed to have a layover in Istanbul on his trip to Greece, he crossed the border into Syria.

While in Syria, Mohamud was trained by the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization, al-Nusrah Front. Mohamud learned fitness skills and how to use a variety of weapons and tactics for a terrorist attack. Mohamud, prosecutors said, also said he wanted to die fighting in Syria.

Though training with a terrorist organization, Mohamud was able to return to the U.S. after his brother died fighting in Syria with al-Nusrah.

Once home, Mohamud plotted to get weapons that could murder American military officers and other government employees in uniform. Mohamud was even scoping out locations for the attack, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) investigation into the plot.

“Mohamud admitted to traveling overseas, providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and receiving training from terrorists. He also admitted to returning to the United States and planning to conduct an attack on American soil. He will now be held accountable for his crimes,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Boente said in a statement. “The National Security Division’s highest priority is counterterrorism. We will remain vigilant in our efforts to identify, disrupt, and bring to justice those who provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations and seek to conduct attacks on our homeland.”

Back in 2015, the Somali national was charged and pleaded guilty to the terrorist-related charges, which included providing material support to terrorists and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

At the time, due to the ongoing FBI investigation into Mohamud, his guilty plea was sealed in court records and the exact findings of the investigation have only most recently been revealed.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.