Justice Department indicts New York man accused of trying to aid ISIL

A New York state man was indicted Tuesday on charges of trying to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group and plotting to kill members of the U.S. military, the Justice Department said.

A federal grand jury indicted 30-year-old Mufid Elfgeeh of Rochester on three counts of attempting to provide material support and resources to the group, which has been designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, federal prosecutors said.

According to court documents, Elfgeeh tried to assist three individuals in traveling to Syria to join and fight with ISIL in 2013 and early 2014. Prosecutors said two of the individuals were cooperating with the FBI.

"Disrupting and holding accountable those who seek to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations is and shall remain a critical national security priority," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin.

The three charges of material support to ISIL each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and the attempted murder charge carries up to a 20-year sentence. Elfgeeh also faces charges for possession of firearms and silencers. 

Members of the FBI's Rochester Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Elfgeeh earlier this year after federal authorities said he bought two handguns and two silencers as part of a plot to kill members of the U.S. armed forces returning from war, as well as Shia Muslims in the Rochester area.

“We will remain aggressive in identifying and disrupting those who seek to provide support to ISIL and other terrorist groups that are bent on inflicting harm upon Americans,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. 

The investigation included linking Elfgeeh's home computer to tweets from alias Twitter accounts expressing support for Al-Qaeda, violent holy war and Sunni insurgent groups in Syria, according to court papers.

The FBI said it had been investigating Elfgeeh, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Yemen, since early last year.

The indictment comes as President Barack Obama seeks to build an international coalition to fight ISIL.

Last week Obama outlined a military plan to destroy the group, authorizing U.S. airstrikes in Syria if need be, stepping up attacks in Iraq and deploying additional American troops, with more than 1,000 now advising and assisting Iraqi security forces to counter the ISIL threat. 

The U.S. on Monday conducted the first of the expanded airstrikes, which directly aided Iraqi security forces who were being attacked by enemy fighters near Baghdad.

Al Jazeera and wire services