Suspected ISIS fighter fromDallas pleads guilty

ADallasmanaccused FORTWORTH,TEXAS— ofproviding communication support for front-line troops fighting in Syria pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorism.

Omer Kuzu faces up to 20 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing in January, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

According to the following details:

Kuzu, now25, said he and his brother, Yusuf, left Texas for Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 16, 2014, and then went to Orfa,Turkey, wheretheywere smuggled across the border into Syria. They ended up in Mosul, Iraq.

The two brothers and 40 other fightersunderwentfive days of physical and weapons training and were then sent to Raqqah, Syria, where Omer Kuzu started work at the ISIS telecommunications directorate.

In Raqqah, Omer Kuzu pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi andtheIslamicCaliphate, and was given a monthly stipend and a Chinese-made AK-47, andthat iswherehealso took an ISIS bride.

Omer Kuzu was sent to Kobani, Syria and Hama, Syria, where he provided communications support for ISIS fightersonthe front lines andworkedin the Caliphate’s technology center.

InMarch2019, OmerKuzu was capturedby SyrianDemocraticForcesalongside1,500 suspectedISIS fighters. Omer Kuzu was handed over to FBI custody,returnedtoAmerican soil, andchargedwithconspiring to provide material support to ISIS. Omer Kuzu said heknewISIS had been designateda foreign terroristorganization and that it engaged in terrorist activities.

“Preventing terrorism remains the FBI’s top mission priority,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in ChargeMatthew DeSarno. “We remain vigilant in our effort to prevent terrorismaswell as hold terrorists, andthosewhoprovide support toterrorist organizations, accountable for their actions.”