Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty in ISIL Support Plot

Akhror Saidakhmetov, a citizen of Kazakhstan and resident of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. The plea, entered before U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz, II, marks the latest takedown in a federal crackdown on homegrown terror threats. Saidakhmetov now faces up to 15 years in federal prison and presumptive deportation to Kazakhstan upon release.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Robert L. Capers, announced the plea alongside top national security and law enforcement officials, including Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary B. McCord, FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr., HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez, and NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. The coordinated effort underscores the ongoing vigilance of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in intercepting would-be foreign fighters before they can reach conflict zones or strike domestically.

Court documents reveal Saidakhmetov’s radicalization unfolded through online activity, including a chilling August 2014 post reacting to a video of ISIL’s capture of Mosul: “Allohu Akbar I was very happy after reading this, my eyes joyful so much victory.” The post, celebrating mass executions of Iraqi soldiers, signaled his alignment with the terrorist group’s ideology and his desire to join the violent jihad in Syria.

By fall 2014, Saidakhmetov and co-defendant Abdurasul Juraboev began concrete plans to travel to Syria and fight for ISIL. Their attempt ended at John F. Kennedy International Airport on February 25, 2015, when federal agents arrested Saidakhmetov as he tried to board a flight to Turkey—a known transit route to ISIL-held territory. Juraboev, who had already purchased his ticket, was arrested the same day. He pleaded guilty in August 2015 and awaits sentencing.

“The defendant was committed to traveling to Syria to join ISIL or to conducting a domestic terror attack if unable to travel to Syria,” said U.S. Attorney Capers. “Thanks to the efforts of FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York, we have prevented two local residents – Saidakhmetov and his codefendant Abdurasul Juraboev – from becoming foreign fighters in Syria or attacking victims here in the United States.”

Authorities emphasized that Saidakhmetov was not just a passive sympathizer but an active conspirator prepared to commit violence. “Akhror Saidakhmetov admitted that he conspired to provide material support to ISIL and that he was prepared to commit violence overseas or here in the United States,” said McCord. “This case reflects our commitment to disrupting and holding accountable those who wish to wage violence on behalf of ISIL, either at home or abroad.”

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