Khamiis 17-10-2024 {HMC} A 21-year-old Maryland man has been arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS-Somalia, following a months-long undercover investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced. The suspect, Michael Sam Teekaye Jr., from Hanover, Maryland, was preparing to board a flight to Somalia via Turkey and Ethiopia, intending to join the terrorist group.
According to federal prosecutors and an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, Teekaye had been in contact with a Somali ISIS fighter since early 2023. His communications revealed a man set on joining the extremist group to fight in Africa. His plan was clear: he would travel first to Turkey, then enter Ethiopia before crossing into Somalia, where he would link up with ISIS militants. Teekaye also had a contingency plan to carry out an attack on U.S. soil, targeting supporters of Israel if he could not join the terrorist group abroad. The undercover FBI officer he communicated with posed as an ally, gaining his trust. Teekaye expressed to an undercover FBI officer his desire to join ISIS in Somalia.
Investigators say over the following months, he took concrete steps to make this plan a reality. By May and June 2024, he was buying ammunition and practicing at a shooting range in Severn, Maryland, preparing for what he called “training.”
In July 2024, Teekaye attempted to buy a Kalashnikov K-9 9mm rifle, but the sale was blocked because he was on probation for a previous criminal offence. Undeterred, he pressed on with his plan to leave the U.S. and fight alongside ISIS.
By October, Teekaye had obtained an Ethiopian e-visa and had flight tickets from a Somali ISIS fighter. He would fly from Baltimore to Istanbul, then proceed to Ethiopia before crossing into Somalia. Just days before his flight, he sent the undercover FBI officer a photo of himself wearing a black mask and holding a machete, captioning it: “Abdullah the islamophobe slayer.”
Source Hiiraan Online.
