French Muslim teenager arrested on terror charges 'was told to "hit France" by ISIS recruiter after his mother reported him to authorities and blocked him going to Syria'

A teenager among three terror suspects arrested on in France this week had been in contact with an ISIS recruiter who told him to 'hit France', according to the country's prosecutor.

Ismael K, 17, had been talking with the extremist fighter online and was urged to flee to the Middle East until his mother stopped him, at which point he was ordered to attack his home country.

The alleged plot was revealed after Ismael was arrested on Wednesday along with former marine Djebril A, 23, and alleged accomplice Antoine F, 19.

According to officials, the trio had plotted to attack military base Fort Bear, in southern France, where Djebril had once worked.

Once inside they planned to kill the officers on the base before capturing and beheading the commander on film, echoing the sick ISIS beheading videos produced in Syria, it is alleged.

Communicating using an encrypted online messaging service, the three men allegedly said that after their attack they would attempt to flee to Syria.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the attack was due to take place in December this year or January next year, when Djebril said surveillance of the base would be lower than usual.

The group came into contact with each other via social networks and formed a plan to go to Syria to wage jihad alongside other IS extremists.

However, Ismael's mother became concerned about his radical views and contacted the authorities.

He was subsequently interviewed by counter-terrorism officials and was aware he was under surveillance so was forced to abandon his original plans.

It was after that interview that the ISIS Jihadi delivered his chilling command.

Moulins said: 'There was in particular an exchange between Ismael K. and an individual currently fighting with IS in Syria who - given it was impossible for him to leave France - told him to "hit on the ground in France".'

Djebril then suggested the target, having worked on the base during his naval career.

He joined the service in June 2013 as a signalman but suffered health problems and was eventually discharged in January 2015, officials said.

It is believed the group planned to arm themselves with handguns for the attack but no weapons were found when searching their homes.

However, police did say they had seized 'paramilitary' equipment - including protective gloves used by jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

The three men are expected to be interviewed by a judge on Friday ahead of possible charges.

Molins added: 'Djebril A., Antoine F. and Ismael K. have several things in common - as well as their young age.'

'They have never been convicted, had been educated to baccalaureate level (equivalent to A-levels) and were strongly radicalised, in particular because they watched IS videos.'

France remains on high alert more than six months after jihadist attacks in January that claimed 17 lives and started with shootings at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

'We are facing a terrorist threat that we have never seen before - an external threat and an internal threat,' Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Thursday.

Although the foiled assault was planned around the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, none of the three alleged plotters indicated that the date was chosen deliberately for this reason.

The government says there are 1,850 French citizens or people living in France who are 'implicated' in jihadist networks, with around 500 in Syria or Iraq.

France, which is home to Europe's largest Muslim population, has beefed up security, posting 30,000 police officers and soldiers outside 5,000 sensitive sites such as schools and religious sites.

Authorities have also set up a hotline for friends or family concerned that someone could be tempted to wage jihad - an effort that has yielded 2,500 leads.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

North Carolina teen arrested after plotting attacks in support of Islamic State

A North Carolina teenager is in federal custody after telling an undercover FBI employee that he wanted to support the Islamic State group by carrying out attacks in the United States, officials said today.
Justin Nojan Sullivan, 19, of Morganton, planned to buy a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle at a gun show on June 20 so he could kill as many as 1,000 people and demonstrate his support of the Islamic State, according to the criminal complaint.

Mr. Sullivan “was planning assassinations and violent attacks in the United States,” said John P. Carlin, assistant attorney general for national security, according to the Associated Press.
Federal authorities began investigating Sullivan when his father called 911 in late April, telling emergency dispatchers that his son was destroying religious items in their house.

“I don’t know if it’s [the Islamic State] or what,” the complaint quotes Sullivan’s father telling dispatchers, “but he is destroying Buddhas and figurines and stuff.”

An undercover FBI employee made contact with Sullivan on June 6, when the teen described himself as a Muslim convert. Days later, he told the undercover agent that he wanted to kill 1,000 people using biological weapons, bullets coated with cyanide, and a gas bomb.

According to the complaint, Sullivan told the undercover agent he planned on doing “minor assassinations before the big attack for training,” and that “we are going to send a video to” the Islamic State.

On June 9, the complaint said Sullivan asked the undercover agent to build a firearms noise suppressor for him. The suppressor was delivered to Sullivan’s home on June 19, according to the complaint. He was arrested later that day without incident.

The Islamic State has been defined by its broad and sophisticated efforts to recruit new members, particularly using social media. The Christian Science Monitor reported last September that “up to a hundred Americans” have tried to travel abroad to fight for the Islamic State, but authorities are also concerned about the group motivating Americans to carry out “lone wolf” attacks inside the country – which is what Sullivan appeared to be planning, and what a man in Boston was allegedly planning before he was shot and killed by authorities attempting to apprehend him.

John Mulligan, deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testified to Congress earlier this month that authorities “remain highly concerned by numerous people in the [US] homeland who are buying into [the Islamic State’s] distorted messaging.”

“During the past few months numerous statements from senior [Islamic State] leaders have called for lone-offender attacks against the West,” said Mr. Mulligan.

Sullivan made his first appearance in federal court today in Charlotte, N.C., the AP reported. His next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. He faces several charges, including one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State and two counts involving possession of a silencer.

Earlier this month, a teen in from the northern Virginia suburbs pleaded guilty in federal court to helping recruit for the Islamic State. The teen, 17 year-old Ali Shukri Amin, admitted in court that he recruited one teen, 18 year-old Reza Niknejad, to travel to the Middle East and fight for the group.

His family last saw Mr. Niknejad on Jan. 14, when he told them he was going on a camping trip, according to Monitor reporter Warren Richey.

Mr. Carlin said in a statement at the time that the case “serves as a wake-up call.”
“[Islamic State] messages are reaching America in an attempt to radicalize, recruit and incite our youth and others to support [their] violent causes,” he added. “This challenge requires parental and community awareness and action to confront and deter this threat wherever it surfaces.”