Details surrounding the arrest of two Somali refugees arrested on terrorism charges in Tucson reveal the duo were hitting the gym to bulk up, in hopes of becoming “the beheading guy” when they joined up with ISIS in the Middle East.
FBI agents posing as overseas contacts communicated with 21-year-old Ahmed Mahad Mohamed and Abdi Yemani Hussein, 20, for months before agents arrested the two at the Tucson International Airport late last month.
Federal court records detailing the conversations between the undercover agent and Mohamed, a lawful permanent U.S. resident, show he longed to “achieve martyrdom” as an ISIS terrorist, and he was bulking up to lop the heads off infidels in the name of Allah.
“Mohamed stated, ‘I love jihad so much wallahi (Arabic for ‘I swear by Allah’) I give my jihad life, I only think about jihad everywhere I go, but my father and mom they don’t like jihad, if they knew me I want to make hijrah they would spy me,” according to his arrest affidavit.
Mohamed told the undercover agent he planned to fly to Egypt with the intent of joining ISIS and terrorizing non-Muslims. His specific goal was to become “the beheading guy,” AZcentral reports, and he saved up $2,000 to make the trip.
Townhall’s Katie Pavlich quoted from the federal indictment:
On or about June 26, 2019, MOHAMED told the UC (undercover FBI agent) that he and ‘abu’ jihad started going to the gym so they could get stronger and ‘behad those kuffar,'” the indictment states. “MOHAMED indicated that he wanted to make hijrah and asked for help from the UC. MOHAMED state that he was ‘a lion bu killing the kuffar and behading.’ In addition, MOHAMED told the UC, ‘if I go to Syria I want to be the behading person wallahi this kuffar I want to kill them so many I am thirsty their blood.’ MOHAMED indicated he wanted to travel to Syria, Egypt and/or Iraq.
According to information provided by the Department of Homeland Security, MOHAMED is a 21-year-old lawful permanent resident of the United States who currently resides in Tucson, Arizona, and originally entered the United States as a refugee from Somalia. HUSSEIN is a 20-year-old refugee from Somali who also currently resides in Tucson, Arizona,” the indictment continues. “Over the past several months, MOHAMED and HUSSEIN have repeatedly demonstrated their allegiance to and support for ISIS, and have discussed their desire and plans for joining ISIS overseas, in the course of various electronic and audio recorded conversations with an undercover FBI Agent.
Hijrah is “an Arabic phrase referring to a foreign fighter’s journey from his/her country of origin to join and fight in terrorist-held territories,” according to the criminal complaint. Kuffar is another word for infidel, or non-Muslim.
Mohamed obtained a visa to study for Ramadan in Egypt in April and allegedly helped Hussein to make travel arrangements, as well, and the two bought tickets to fly from Tucson to Cairo on July 26. Through several in-person conversations with an undercover FBI agent, the men said they hoped to “kill so many people” and wanted “to be on the front line” to fight for ISIS and Al-Shabab, another terrorist organization in Syria, KGUN reports.
If the plans to travel to Egypt fell through, they said, Hussein told the agent he’d carry out an attack in Tucson and the “city will die.”
“The best wake-up call is Islamic State to get another victory or another 9/11,” Mohamed said, according to court records.
The two checked in at the airport and passed through security before FBI agents took them into custody, AZ Central reports.
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