[Breaking news update, posted at 1:36 p.m. ET]
One of three men arrested in the United States for attempting to join ISIS in Syria said the plan was to travel on Wednesday, hijack a flight and divert it “to the Islamic State, so that the Islamic State would gain a plane,” according to a New York federal court complaint that was released Wednesday in Brooklyn.
In addition, the complaint said, one of three men arrested spoke of shooting U.S. President Barack Obama. The suspect, Abdurasul Jaraboev, 24, allegedly posted online: “Is it possible to commit ourselves as dedicated martyrs anyway while here? What I’m saying is, to shoot Obama and then get shot ourselves, will it do?”
[Previous story, posted at 1:26 p.m. ET]
The FBI has arrested three men who allegedly attempted to fly from New York to Turkey in hopes of eventually joining ISIS in Syria, according to a complaint unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday.
The suspects — identified as Abdurasul Jaraboev, 24; Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19; and Abror Habibov, 30 — face charges that include providing material support for terrorists, authorities said.
The men allegedly discussed staging attacks in the United States, according to court papers.
Parts of their plan for attacks were posted online, the documents said.
In a conversation recorded by authorities, Saidakhmetov said that if he was unable to get travel documents to Syria, “I will just go out and buy a machine gun, AK-47, go out and shoot all police,” according to the complaint.
Saidakhmetov told an informant that carrying a gun in the U.S. was legal.
“We will go and purchase one handgun … then go and shoot one police officer,” he is quoted as saying, according to the complaint. “Boom …Then, we will take his gun, bullets and a bulletproof vest … then, we will do the same with a couple of others.”
He added, “Then we will go to the FBI headquarters, kill the FBI people.”
One of the men was arrested in Florida, two others in New York.