A man from Kentucky has been charged with providing support to a terrorist organization.
Mirsad Hariz Adem Ramic, 31, has dual U.S. and Bosnian citizenship and lived in Bowling Green, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ramic and two co-conspirators allegedly left the U.S. in June 2014 to fly to Istanbul, Turkey, in order to support the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, also called ISIS.
Ramic and the others crossed the border into Syria to join ISIS in the war there, federal authorities charged.
Ramic allegedly attended an ISIS training camp. The FBI has photos of Ramic in ISIS territory wearing camouflage clothing, standing in front of a pickup truck that had an anti-aircraft gun, and holding a rifle, according to the release.
Ramic and his co-conspirators discussed him being in Syria and using a weapon to shoot at airplanes, and also martydom and fighting for ISIS, according to the release.
One of the other men sent emails to Western Kentucky University saying he had traveled to Syria to join ISIS and wanted the group to conquer the U.S., according to the news release.
In addition to providing support to ISIS, Ramic is charged with conspiracy and receiving military-type training from the group.
The charges against Ramic were just unsealed because he had been in prison in Turkey. He was deported to the U.S., arrived Thursday and had his initial court appearance Monday.
He faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted.
In a separate case, two Iraqi refugees living in Bowling Green were charged in 2015 with conspiring to ship sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, explosives and money to Iraq for use against U.S. troops.
The two were convicted. Waad Ramadan Alwan sentenced to 40 years in prison and Mohaned Shareef Hammadi was sentenced to life, according to court records.
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