A naturalized United States citizen born in Kazakhstan and "emir" of the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) has been transferred from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to the FBI to face terrorism charges in the United States, the Department of Justice said in a press release on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2019) A naturalized United States citizen born in Kazakhstan and "emir" of the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia) has been transferred from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to the FBI to face terrorism charges in the United States, the Department of Justice said in a press release on Friday."A criminal complaint was unsealed today in Federal court in the Eastern District of New York charging Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, a naturalized US citizen born in Kazakhstan with providing... material support, including training, services and personnel, to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham," the release said.
The Justice Department said in the release that Asainov was first detained by the SDF and then moved into FBI custody, and is due to appear at a US federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Friday afternoon.
The Justice Department explained that in December 2013, Asianov traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, and subsequently went to Syria where he joined the Islamic State and became a sniper.
"Over time, [Asianov] rose through the ranks to become an ISIS [Islamic State] 'emir' in charge of training other ISIS members," the release said.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces retain control over the northeast of Syria and since March they have been in custody of more than 2,000 foreign Islamic State combatants from more than 50 nations, US media reported on Friday.
The SDF have been complaining about US forces taking custody of some of these Islamic State prisoners, according to recent reports.
