Two Iraqi refugees in U.S. charged in terrorism case

Men are accused of seeking to provide aid to groups in Syria

Terrorism charges were unveiled late Thursday against two Iraqi refugees living in the U.S. who allegedly sought to provide aid to groups operating in Syria, according to federal court documents.

Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, who was living in Houston, has been charged in a three-count indictment alleging that he tried to provide material support to the Islamic State, or ISIL. Prosecutors say he received machine-gun training from the terror group.

In a separate filing, Aws Mohammed Younis al-Jayab, 23, of Sacramento, was charged with making false statements involving his alleged travel to Syria to assist terror organizations.

Al Hardan entered the U.S. as an Iraqi refugee in November 2009 and was granted legal permanent residence status in2011.

In addition to providing support to ISIL, Al Hardan is charged with unlawfully obtaining resident status here.

The cases come amid a heated debate over the risk of admitting Syrian refugees into the U.S.

According to court documents, Al Hardan sought to join ISIL and “swore untruthfully on his formal application” to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

“He allegedly represented that he was not associated with a terrorist organization when, in fact, he associated with members and sympathizers of ISIL throughout 2014,” prosecutors said.

During an interview in October he “falsely” denied having received any type of weapons training, even though he had learned how to fire machine guns, prosecutors said.

Al-Jayab, who was arrested Thursday, came to the U.S. as an Iraqi refugee in October 2012. He was charged with lying to federal authorities about his travel to fight with various terror groups, including Ansar al-Islam.

According to court documents, al-Jayab communicated with others on social media about his intent to fight for terrorist organizations in Syria. In those exchanges, authorities said, al-Jayab discussed previous experience fighting against the regime in Syria. Between November 2013 and January 2014, al-Jayab allegedly reported on social media that he was in Syria fighting with Ansar al-Islam and other groups. He returned to the U.S. in January 2014, and settled in Sacramento.

Responding to questions posed by immigration authorities, al-Jayab allegedly said he had traveled to the region to visit his grandmother.