By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Eight men from Tajikistan are in U.S. custody after concerns the men were plotting a possible terrorist attack in the United States on behalf of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, American officials said.
The eight residing in Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia were detained by federal agents earlier this month and charged with violating civil U.S. immigration law by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Worthy News learned Sunday.
Tajikistan, a Central Asian nation that borders Afghanistan, is a hotbed for Islamic extremists, government and U.S. sources suggest.
The eight Tajikistanis remain in ICE custody and face removal proceedings, according to U.S. source.
It comes while former President Donald J. Trump has accused current President Joe Biden of allowing “terrorists” to move freely within the massive groups of migrants arriving illegally into the United States.
Biden has denied the allegations.
RAISED ALARM
Yet the case of the eight Tajikistanis who originally crossed into the U.S. over the southwest border in 2023 and 2024 has raised alarm.
After ICE arrested them for entering the country without legal documents, they were released and given a hearing date, said sources familiar with the case.
But when intelligence information came through possible ISIS ties, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force began investigating the men. After months of surveillance, officials confirmed that they were detained as part of a joint operation between ICE and the task force.
Just days before, FBI director Christopher Wray said the bureau had “disrupted multiple terrorist attacks in cities and communities around the country” during his tenure.
Yet he noted the “heightened risk of violence” in the U.S. before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel had only increased in the ensuing months.
“Since then, we’ve seen a rogues’ gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against Americans and our allies,” Wray said.
The eight men who were believed to remain in custody Sunday were the latest terror suspects in the United States, with security measures stepped up ahead of presidential elections in November.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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