Former Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Supporting ISIS in Syria and Iraq

Taking advantage of a family trip to Morocco, the defendant left the kingdom in 2015, when he was 18 years old, to go to Turkey, Abdelhamid Al-Madioum confessed during his appearance before the judge. In Istanbul, he received the support of members of the Islamic State group to return to Syria and Iraq where he enlisted before receiving his first military training, he continued.

At the end of his military training, the young Moroccan, now 24 years old, was in charge of the training and preparation of foreign fighters, recruited for suicide attacks in Europe. During a battle, he lost his right arm following an air strike, he stressed. He then surrendered in 2019 to the Syrian Democratic Forces, who held him prisoner for more than a year before he was sent back to Minnesota last September to answer for his crimes.

During his confession, the Moroccan terrorist also admitted to having joined the Islamic State group from a Twitter account known for its propaganda publications on the terrorist group.