A North Carolina man has been arrested and is facing federal charges that he tried to join an al-Qeda-linked group fighting in Syria.
According to a federal indictment, 29-year-old Basit Javed Sheikh was arrested before boarding a flight to Lebanon and has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization. An FBI agent said in an affidavit that Sheikh told an informant he planned to join the Nusrah Front fighting in Syria.
Sheikh was represented in court by two public defenders during his first hearing last week, the Associated Press reports, but they were unavailable for comment Monday because their office was closed for Veterans Day.
[AP]