Latest news with #LirimSylejmani
American Military News
2 days ago
- General
- American Military News
US citizen who fought for ISIS sentenced to prison
A naturalized U.S. citizen was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to receiving military training from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Syria. In a Monday press release, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia explained that 49-year-old Lirim Sylejmani received military training from ISIS and participated in 'at least one battle with U.S.-led coalition forces' in Syria. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Sylejmani to 10 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised relief. Monday's press release noted that Sylejmani pleaded guilty in December to receiving military training from a designated foreign terrorist organization. 'This defendant will spend a decade in prison thinking about the betrayal to this country,' U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said. 'Anyone thinking that ISIS is the answer to their questions, best think again. We will go to any lengths to root out subversive individuals who want to overthrow the government and harm its citizens.' Monday's press release cited court documents that show Sylejmani was trained by ISIS in Syria from November of 2015 through February of 2019. READ MORE: Fmr. Nat'l Guard member charged for planning mass shooting at US military base for ISIS 'In November 2015, Sylejmani, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Kosovo, traveled to Syria with his family to join ISIS. After entering Syria, Sylejmani completed his ISIS intake process,' the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia stated. 'He adopted the name Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi and trained to be a soldier with other ISIS recruits. Sylejmani's military training included instruction on how to assemble and fire an AK-47 rifle, as well as how to use a PK Machine gun, M-16 rifle and grenades.' The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia explained that following 21 days of military training, Sylejmani was assigned to an ISIS battalion in Iraq, was given 'an AK-47, four AK-47 magazines, a belt to hold the magazines and two grenades, and pledged allegiance to ISIS. The U.S. Attorney's office added that Sylejmani was paid by ISIS for his services. 'In May 2016, the defendant reported for ribat (guard) duty on the front line of the Manbij offensive. The defendant brought his gun belt, AK-47 and magazines to his ribat assignment,' the press release stated. 'During a battle with Coalition Forces he was hit with shrapnel in his legs.' According to Monday's press release, Sylejmani and his family were captured by Coalition Forces in February of 2019, and the 49-year-old was transferred to U.S. custody in September of 2020 to face criminal charges.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
US citizen who fought for ISIS in Syria sentenced to 10 years in prison
A naturalized U.S. citizen who pleaded guilty to receiving military training from the Islamic State in Syria was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in federal prison. Lirim Sylejmani, 49, who was born in Kosovo and moved to Chicago about 25 years ago, engaged in at least one battle against U.S.-led coalition forces after he entered Syria a decade ago, according to prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington, D.C., handed down Sylejmani's prison sentence, which will be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Sylejmani pleaded guilty in December to one count of receiving military training from a foreign terrorist organization. Federal Judge Issues $20M Verdict Against Syria For Torture Of Us Citizen Taken Captive In 2019 "This defendant will spend a decade in prison thinking about the betrayal to this country," wrote the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, also a former Fox News host. Read On The Fox News App "Anyone thinking that ISIS is the answer to their questions, best think again," she continued. "We will go to any lengths to root out subversive individuals who want to overthrow the government and harm its citizens." In November 2015, Sylejmani and his family flew to Turkey before crossing the border into Syria, where he received training with other ISIS recruits until February 2019, when he was captured with his family by Syrian forces in Baghouz, Syria, according to prosecutors. Syria Granted Sanctions Waiver By Trump Administration To Encourage Rebuilding His military training included instruction on how to assemble and fire an AK-47 rifle, as well as how to use a PK Machine gun, M-16 rifle and grenades. Sylejmani was also once injured in a battle with Syrian forces in June 2016. Prosecutors said Sylejmani, who adopted the name Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi, pledged "bayat," or allegiance, to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and to the ISIS organization in front of an Iraqi ISIS member. He was transferred to the U.S. in September 2020 to face criminal charges in Washington, D.C. "The conduct is far more than a single, impulsive act. He chose to jeopardize the safety of his family by bringing them to a war-torn country to join and take up arms for ISIS," prosecutors wrote. Sylejmani's attorneys claim he is not a "committed jihadist" and does not espouse violence. "He is guilt-ridden for his actions and the harm he has visited on his family, who remain detained in a refugee camp in Syria living under terrible conditions," his lawyers wrote. "He wishes only to complete his time and find his wife and children, so he can live an average law-abiding life with them."Original article source: US citizen who fought for ISIS in Syria sentenced to 10 years in prison
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
US citizen who fought for ISIS in Syria sentenced to 10 years in prison
A naturalized U.S. citizen who pleaded guilty to receiving military training from the Islamic State in Syria was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in federal prison. Lirim Sylejmani, 49, who was born in Kosovo and moved to Chicago about 25 years ago, engaged in at least one battle against U.S.-led coalition forces after he entered Syria a decade ago, according to prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington, D.C., handed down Sylejmani's prison sentence, which will be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Sylejmani pleaded guilty in December to one count of receiving military training from a foreign terrorist organization. "This defendant will spend a decade in prison thinking about the betrayal to this country," wrote the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, also a former Fox News host. "Anyone thinking that ISIS is the answer to their questions, best think again," she continued. "We will go to any lengths to root out subversive individuals who want to overthrow the government and harm its citizens." In November 2015, Sylejmani and his family flew to Turkey before crossing the border into Syria, where he received training with other ISIS recruits until February 2019, when he was captured with his family by Syrian forces in Baghouz, Syria, according to prosecutors. His military training included instruction on how to assemble and fire an AK-47 rifle, as well as how to use a PK Machine gun, M-16 rifle and grenades. Sylejmani was also once injured in a battle with Syrian forces in June 2016. Prosecutors said Sylejmani, who adopted the name Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi, pledged "bayat," or allegiance, to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and to the ISIS organization in front of an Iraqi ISIS member. He was transferred to the U.S. in September 2020 to face criminal charges in Washington, D.C. "The conduct is far more than a single, impulsive act. He chose to jeopardize the safety of his family by bringing them to a war-torn country to join and take up arms for ISIS," prosecutors wrote. Sylejmani's attorneys claim he is not a "committed jihadist" and does not espouse violence. "He is guilt-ridden for his actions and the harm he has visited on his family, who remain detained in a refugee camp in Syria living under terrible conditions," his lawyers wrote. "He wishes only to complete his time and find his wife and children, so he can live an average law-abiding life with them."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
U.S. citizen gets 10 years for joining ISIS in Syria
June 3 (UPI) -- A 49-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who pleaded guilty to charges of fighting U.S.-led coalition forces as an Islamic State militant has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Lirim Sylejmani was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty in December to charges of receiving military training from ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. "The defendant will spend a decade in prison thinking about the betrayal to this country," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in a statement. Sylejmani and his family were detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria on Feb. 27, 2019, as coalition fighters made their final advances on ISIS' last caliphate in the country, which fell the next month. He was then transferred to U.S. law enforcement on Sept. 15 the following year to face charges in the United States. According to prosecutors, Sylejmani worked with ISIS from November 2015, when he moved from Kosovo to Syria to join the militant group, to the day of his capture. Prosecutors said he changed his name to Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi and trained alongside other recruits to be an ISIS soldier following his arrival in the Middle Eastern country. His training included instruction on using AK-47 rifles, PK machine guns, M-16 rifles and grenades. The Justice Department said he fought against the Syrian Democratic Forces and was wounded in battle, having been hit by shrapnel in the leg. Because of the injury, he was reassigned to a different battalion in the fall of 2017. Prosecutors said he was paid for his services by ISIS. After being captured, Sylejmani spoke with various media outlets, telling NPR in late 2019 that he and his family arrived in Syria via Canada. He said ISIS promised them free housing, electricity and water, but instead, they "starved" living under the caliphate. "Anyone thinking that ISIS is the answer to their questions, best think again," Pirro said. "We will go to any lengths to root out subversive individuals who want to overthrow the government and harm its citizens."
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Citizen Who Joined ISIS in Syria is Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
A naturalized US citizen who pleaded guilty to receiving military training from the ISIS group was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison. Lirim Sylejmani, 49, engaged in at least one battle against US-led forces after he entered Syria in 2015, according to prosecutors. US District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington, D.C., imposed Sylejmani's prison sentence followed by a lifetime of supervised release, said the Associated Press. Sylejmani, who was born in Kosovo and moved to Chicago roughly 25 years ago, pleaded guilty last December to one count of receiving military training from a foreign terrorist organization. In November 2015, Sylejmani and his family flew to Türkiye and then crossed the border into Syria, where he began training with other ISIS recruits, according to prosecutors. They said he was injured in a battle with Syrian forces in June 2016 and was captured with his family in Baghouz, Syria, in February 2019. "The conduct is far more than a single, impulsive act. He chose to jeopardize the safety of his family by bringing them to a war-torn country to join and take up arms for ISIS," prosecutors wrote. 'He is guilt ridden for his actions and the harm he has visited on his family, who remain detained in a refugee camp in Syria living under terrible conditions," his lawyers wrote. "He wishes only to complete his time and find his wife and children, so he can live an average law-abiding life with them.'
