Prosecutors: NY Man Aimed to Fight With Islamic Extremists

Prosecutors: NY Man Aimed to Fight With Islamic Extremists
In this courtroom drawing, Elvis Redzepagic (L) appears before Magistrate Judge Robert Levy (R) in New York on March 4, 2017, during his arraignment on charges that he attempted to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Elizabeth Williams via AP
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NEW YORK—A New York man repeatedly traveled to the Middle East to try to join ISIS or another terrorist group and later told authorities he'd been prepared to strap on a bomb to sacrifice himself for jihad, prosecutors said Saturday.

And when police on suburban Long Island arrested Elvis Redzepagic on Feb. 2 on a minor, unrelated charge, he told them: “I’m going to leave this country, and I’m going to come back with an Army—Islam is coming,” according to a federal court complaint unsealed Saturday.

The 26-year-old U.S. citizen was being held without bail after appearing in a Brooklyn federal court Saturday. He’s charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Redzepagic’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment; no one immediately responded to phone or email messages to his relatives.

Authorities have prosecuted a number of people accused of aiming to join the ISIS terrorist group and other terrorists in recent years, though in some cases, the accused haven’t actually succeeded in traveling overseas.

Iraqi men are detained as suspected ISIS fighters, March 4, 2017. Iraqi forces are advancing into west Mosul, part of the offensive to retake the city some two years after it fell to ISIS. (Martyn Aim/Getty Images)
Iraqi men are detained as suspected ISIS fighters, March 4, 2017. Iraqi forces are advancing into west Mosul, part of the offensive to retake the city some two years after it fell to ISIS. Martyn Aim/Getty Images