Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, 18, of Aurora, Illinois was arrested at O’Hare Airport Friday attempting to board a flight bound for Istanbul, Turkey. Tounisi, a U.S. citizen, was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
The FBI reports an investigation has been ongoin Tounisi since 2012. The FBI claims Abdella Ahmad Tounisi was a close friend of of Adel Daoud, who was arrested in September 2012 for attempting to detonate a bomb outside a bar in Chicago.
In late March 2013, the FBI alleges Abdella Ahmad Tounisi made contact with a man he believed was an undercover agent posing as a recruiter for the terrorist group and exchanged a series of emails in which Tounisi shared his plan to get to Syria via Turkey, and willingness to die for Jihad.
Like, Adel Daoud, the FBI claims Tounisi conducted online research on overseas travel and violent jihad from January to April 2013, focusing on the Jabhat al-Nusrah terrorist group.
See also …
The Cardinal Car Bomb Attempt at Downtown Chicago Bar Followed By FBI Arrest of Adel Daoud of Hillside