Midwood Resident, Two Others, Arrested For Plotting To Join ISIS With Backup Plan To Blow Up Coney Island

Three Brooklyn men, one of which is from Midwood, have been arrested for conspiring to aid ISIS, including a vague plot to plant a bomb in Coney Island.

Uzbekistan nationals Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, and Abror Habibov, 30, and a Kazakhstan citizen, 19-year-old Akhror Saidakhmetov, of Midwood, were taken into custody by NYPD and FBI agents during a terrorism raid today, according to officials. One stands accused of providing financial support for terrorist activity, while two others allegedly planned to travel to Syria to join the terror group, vowing to carry out domestic attacks for ISIS if they failed.

A Department of Justice statement released today described some of the terror team’s alleged plans:

As alleged in the complaint, Juraboev was also prepared to engage in an act of terrorism in the United States if ordered to do so by ISIL, and Saidakhmetov intended to commit such an act if unable to travel abroad to join ISIL. In the August 2014 posting on the website that propagates ISIL’s ideology, Juraboev offered to kill the President of the United States if ordered to do so by ISIL. More recently, Saidakhmetov expressed his intent to buy a machine gun and shoot police officers and FBI agents if thwarted in his plan to join ISIL in Syria.

Juraboev also wrote that he would plant a bomb in Coney Island if ISIS told him to, according to the complaint.

Juraboev first came to the attention of law enforcement in August 2014 for a posting he made on an Uzbek-language website that propagates ISIS ideology, according to the complaint. A subsequent investigation revealed that Juraboev and Saidakhmetov devised a plan to travel to Turkey and then to Syria for the purpose of waging jihad on behalf of ISIS.

“The flow of foreign fighters to Syria represents an evolving threat to our country and to our allies,” said United States Attorney Loretta Lynch. “As alleged in the complaint, two of the defendants in this case sought to travel to Syria to join ISIL but were also prepared to wage violent jihad here in the United States. A third defendant allegedly provided financial assistance and encouragement. We will vigorously prosecute those who attempt to travel to Syria to wage violent jihad on behalf of ISIL and those who support them. Anyone who threatens our citizens and our allies, here or abroad, will face the full force of American justice.”

NBC has published snippets of recorded phones conversations revealed in the complaint in which Saidakhmetov tells an FBI informant he would “just go and buy a machine gun, AK-47, go out and shoot all police,” if his plan to join ISIS failed.

“We will go and purchase one handgun … then go and shoot one police officer. Boom … Then, we will take his gun, bullets and a bulletproof vest … then, we will do the same with a couple of others. Then we will go to the FBI headquarters, kill the FBI people,” Saidakhmetov said, according to the complaint.

Law enforcement officials told NBC that the men’s plan to kill law enforcement agents and attack New York were “aspirational” not “operational,” and that the arrests were made to intercept the immediate plan to join ISIS.

Saidakhmetov was arrested early this morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where he was attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Juraboev had previously purchased a plane ticket to travel from New York to Istanbul and was scheduled to leave the United States next month.

The third man, Habibov, was arrested in Florida for helping to fund Saidakhmetov’s efforts to join ISIL, according to the complaint.

Senator Charles Schumer praised the FBI for today’s arrests:

“This foiled ISIS plot sends shivers down the spine of New Yorkers and clearly underscores that we must remain ever-vigilant in the face of terror threats, and that funding our national security must be a top priority of the federal government, at all times. While details are still emerging, it is reassuring to know that the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force has had eyes on these would-be terrorists for months. We have the best law enforcement community in the world protecting us each and every day,” he said.

All three men have been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a terror group, according to officials. Juraboev and Saidakhmetov are scheduled to appear in a Brooklyn court later today, while Habibov’s initial court appearance will be in Florida.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.