WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2023) US Army Private Cole Bridges has admitted in court to providing tactical assistance to Islamic State (banned in Russia) to help the terror group attack and kill US service personnel in the middle East, the Justice Department said in a press release on Wednesday.
"As he admitted in court today, Cole Bridges attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his fellow soldiers in service of ISIS (Islamic State) and its violent ideology," US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in the release. "Bridges's traitorous conduct was a betrayal of his comrades and his country."
Bridges, 22, joined the US Army in September 2019 and served as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia. During that time, Bridges began researching and absorbing online Islamist propaganda and spoke of his admiration and support for Islamic State on social media, the release said.
Bridges provided training to an FBI undercover agent who was acting as if he was an Islamic State supporter and offered training and guidance on planning attacks, including seeking out potential targets in New York City, the release said.
He also provided the informant with sections of a US Army training manual and guidance about military combat tactics, among other information, the release added.
Bridges faces a sentence of 20 years in prison for the two charges against him and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, according to the release.
