On Friday (29th December), US authorities made it public and announced that a New Jersey man who got inspired by Hamas’s 7th October terror attack in Israel and was en route to join Somalia-based Islamist terror group al-Shabaab was arrested earlier this month in Kenya. According to the prosecutors, the terror accused Karrem Nasr (23) aka “Ghareeb Al-Muhajir” was “devoted to waging violent jihad against America”.
As per the US Department of Justice, Nasr, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody in Nairobi, Kenya, on 14th December 2023. He was transported to the United States on 28th December 2023 and the authorities filed charges against him on Friday 29th December.
The Manhattan federal prosecutors have charged him with a single count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation and he could face up to 20 years in prison. As per the authorities, Nasr offered to “write for any group that he joined” and also “wanted to train to ‘shoot’ with any [terror] group he joined.”
On Friday, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said, “As alleged, Karrem Nasr, motivated by the heinous terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, devoted himself to waging violent jihad against America and its allies.”
As per the complaint, Nasr was in communications with an FBI confidential source (the “CS”), who was posing as a facilitator for terrorist organisations. In his communication with CS, Nasr stated that the number one enemy was “evil America,” which he called the “head of the snake.”
As per the US agencies, Nasr told the source, “After the Oct. 7 events, I felt that something has changed [for] the better, I mean. I felt that pride and dignity came back to the Muslims.”
According to the US authorities, Nasr wanted to visit Kenya to join and train with al-Shabaab – US proscribed terror organisation – to execute his jihadist mission of death and destruction. For his plan, he was prepared to kill and be killed to support the jihadist cause.
Sharing the details about the case, US Attorney Williams added, “Nasr, a citizen of this country, traveled from Egypt to Kenya bent on joining and training with al Shabaab so that he could execute his jihadist mission of death and destruction. Nasr was prepared to kill and be killed to support the jihadist cause, and in his own words, he described America as ‘evil’ and the ‘head of the snake.’”
Williams noted that because of the efforts of law enforcement agencies, they disrupted Nasr’s plan to train with a terrorist organisation and wage violent jihad. He reiterated that US authorities are committed to investigating, disrupting, and prosecuting anyone who is inspired by Hamas’s October 7 attack and seeks to harm Americans, whether here or abroad.
FBI special agent Bilal Morgan submitted it in writing before the court that Nasr had moved to Egypt in July to study Arabic. As per the court document, Nasr became “particularly motivated to become a jihadi” after Hamas terrorists carried out the large-scale assault on Southern Israel killing more than 1200 people, kidnapping around 250 Israeli and foreign nationals, raping women, and brutally murdering babies on 7th October, this year. In retaliation, Israel carried out aerial bombardment followed by extensive ground operation which is still ongoing. Click here, for detailed reports about the Israel-Hamas war.
Morgan wrote, “In recent public social media posts, Nasr warned that ‘Jihad’ was ‘coming soon to a US location near you,’ posting airplane, bomb, and fire emojis.”
“Nasr expressed his intent to join al Shabaab [sic] to receive military training and engage in jihad; that he was prepared to kill and be killed; and that he specifically aspired to be a martyr for the jihadi cause.”
The US authorities also included Nasr’s online posts that expressed support for jihad and terrorist ideology.
During his Kenya trip, Nasr had planned to meet members of al-Shabaab, which has links with another dreaded terror outfit Al Qaeda, while he had been engaging with an FBI source posing as a facilitator for terrorist organisations last month.
He also mentioned Osama bin Laden’s 2002 “Letter to America,” which recently resurfaced and garnered attention among TikTok users who claimed they had never heard of Al Qaeda’s complaints about the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.
According to court documents, Nasr told the source, “I do not know if you follow the news in the West, but there are a lot of people now in America, not Muslims, just reading the letter from Sheikh [Osama] bin Laden and there are a lot of people, because of this letter, [who] have completely changed their opinion on him, and they finally understand how evil America is.”
Morgan added that Nasr reportedly offered to “write for any group that he joined” because he “could write well and knew how to translate”. Further Nasr also “wanted to train to ‘shoot’ with any [terror] group he joined.”
Originally, he had planned to meet the jihadists in Kenya later in January. However, he told the source that he accelerated his plans to join al-Shabaab when he learned that his mother was visiting from the US in mid-December and wanted to take him “back to America to continue my education and work.”
