A man accused of conspiring to kill Americans in Iraq was arrested in Canada today, the Justice Department announced.
Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa, 38, was arrested based on a complaint in the US charging him with providing material support to a terrorist conspiracy to kill Americans abroad. The US government will seek Muhammad ‘Isa’s extradition.
The defendant is alleged to have had connections with a multinational terrorist network that conducted multiple suicide bombings in Iraq. In one such attack, a Tunisian jihadist drove an explosives-laden truck to the gate of a US military Forward Operating Base in Mosul on April 10, 2009.
The bomber exchanged gunfire with Iraqi police officers and an American convoy that was exiting the base. The truck’s explosives detonated as the last vehicle in the US convoy drove past, killing five Americans and leaving a 60-foot (18-meter) crater in the ground.
The day after the attack, Muhammad ‘Isa conversed with a member of the terrorist network about the bombing. The conversation, along with others, was recovered as a result of Canadian-authorized wiretaps and search warrants.
According to the complaint, Muhammad ‘Isa sought to further the terrorist network’s attacks against Americans in Iraq. He also allegedly sought to become a suicide bomber for the network, telling his mother in November 2009 that his greatest wish was to die a martyr and be greeted by 70 virgins in paradise.
He was recorded volunteering in January 2010 to travel to Iraq, take up arms against Americans and conduct a suicide mission.
Muhammad ‘Isa faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of conspiring to kill Americans abroad and providing material support to the conspiracy to kill Americans abroad.
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