News / International
Man contacts al-Qaeda via Facebook
28 Dec 2013 at 05:28hrs | Views
A 24-year-old man who used Facebook to contact al-Qaeda operatives has pleaded guilty to a terrorism charge in the US.
Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen admitted to attempting to assist the militant Islamist group by providing weapons training, a court heard.
The California man faces up to 15 years in prison after he was unmasked by an undercover FBI agent posing as a recruiter for the terrorist group.
He said that he planned to offer himself as a trainer of some 30 al-Qaeda forces to ambush troops in Syria, where he had already spent five months fighting with rebels.
'Nguyen admitted that approximately one year ago he travelled to Syria where he joined opposition forces,' said a statement from US attorney's office
'Using a social network site during a four-month period he was in Syria, Nguyen told people that he was fighting against the Assad regime and that he had had a confirmed kill.'
When he returned to the US he told associates that he had offered to train al-Qaeda forces in Syria but was turned down.
The judge who accepted the plea expressed scepticism about whether Nguyen had any special skills to offer al-Qaeda.
He will be sentenced in March.
Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen admitted to attempting to assist the militant Islamist group by providing weapons training, a court heard.
The California man faces up to 15 years in prison after he was unmasked by an undercover FBI agent posing as a recruiter for the terrorist group.
He said that he planned to offer himself as a trainer of some 30 al-Qaeda forces to ambush troops in Syria, where he had already spent five months fighting with rebels.
'Using a social network site during a four-month period he was in Syria, Nguyen told people that he was fighting against the Assad regime and that he had had a confirmed kill.'
When he returned to the US he told associates that he had offered to train al-Qaeda forces in Syria but was turned down.
The judge who accepted the plea expressed scepticism about whether Nguyen had any special skills to offer al-Qaeda.
He will be sentenced in March.
Source - Mirror
