US national arrested for providing material support to IS

A 30-year-old man has been arrested in the US on charges of providing material support to Islamic State militant group and receiving money allegedly meant for launching an attack on American soil. The FBI arrested Mohamed Elshinawy, a Maryland resident, yesterday. Elshinawy received money he believed was provided by IS in order to conduct an attack on US soil, Assistant Attorney General John Carlin alleged. "When confronted by the FBI, he lied in order to conceal his support for IS and the steps he took to provide material support to the deadly foreign terrorist organisation," he said. According to the complaint, Elshinawy said he had received a total of USD 4,000 in two payments USD 1,000 through Western Union and USD 3,000 through PayPal and that the IS operative instructed Elshinawy to use the monies for "operational purposes". This he understood to mean causing destruction or conducting a terrorist attack in the United States. Elshinawy stated that the IS instructed him that if he ever came under surveillance by law enforcement, he should stop whatever activities he was doing in connection with executing an attack. Elshinawy claimed, however, that he never intended to carry out an attack and was only trying to get money from the IS, a statement said. According to the affidavit, Elshinawy used social media, multiple email accounts and "pay as you go" phones subscribed to him under various aliases to communicate with the individuals he understood to be associated with the IS. The investigation revealed that on April 27, 2015, Elshinawy told his brother that he had pledged allegiance to the IS and that he had received money from the outfit and expected to receive even more. In further communications with his brother in May 2015, Elshinawy stated his desire to die as a martyr for the Islamic State, and in August 2015, he directed his brother to take steps to conceal their communications and any communications with the childhood friend, because Elshinawy believed his relationship with the IS had been compromised.