US citizen was reportedly arrested at JFK Airport for trying to join the Taliban

Authorities reportedly arrested a man from the Bronx at John F. Kennedy International Airport for trying to fly to the Middle East to join the Taliban.

Here's what we know

According to New York's WNBC-TV, the FBI had been aware of the man and had been monitoring him "for some time" before his arrest. He is being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, according to the New York Post.

WPIX-TV reported the man was a 34-year-old U.S. citizen who had been born in Bangladesh. He had hoped to board Qatar Airlines flight 704,which was bound for Doha, Qatar. He never made it on the plane, which left Friday morning.

His name has not yet been released. He will be arraigned in federal court in Lower Manhattan. He was being held in the FBI's office at JFK airport.

A law enforcement source told ABC News that the man had planned to travel to Pakistan.

What else?

While the State Department designated the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2010, it's hold over large portions of Afghanistan has led the U.S. to seek to negotiate a peace deal between the group and the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

The U.S. attacked the Taliban after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, after it offered sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. At the time, the Taliban controlled the entire country through a brutal and oppressive regime. Currently, the Taliban controls roughly half of all territory in Afghanistan.
Powered by Blogger.