Ill. Teen Charged With Trying to Join ISIS

Mohammed Hamza Khan, 19, was detained Saturday on way to Turkey
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 6, 2014 1:00 PM CDT
Ill. Teen Charged With Trying to Join ISIS
This undated file image posted on a militant website on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, shows fighters from the Islamic State marching in Raqqa, Syria.   (AP Photo/Militant Website, File)

A Chicago-area teen who federal agents say was trying to travel overseas to join ISIS was arrested at O'Hare International Airport on Saturday evening, reports the Chicago Tribune. Nineteen-year-old Mohammed Hamza Khan, who CNN notes was flying to Turkey, is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist group, the US attorney's office said today. The feds found pro-ISIS materials in Khan's home, including a letter to Khan's parents in which he railed against the "immoral" West and said "I do not want my kids being exposed to filth like this." A drawing appeared to show an ISIS fighter with a flag and the Arabic words, "Come to jihad." Khan, who the AP describes as "slight" and "bearded," appeared in court this morning; he'll be held until a detention hearing Thursday. The Tribune has a PDF of the federal complaint against Khan here. (More Islamic State stories.)

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