A 23-year-old resident of Aurora, Illinois, faces 15 years in prison for attempting to travel to Syria and join the designated foreign terrorist organization known as Jabhat al-Nusrah.
The suburban Chicago man, Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, was arrested at O’Hare International Airport four years ago while attempting to board a flight to Istanbul. At the time, he had requested an expedited passport and an airline ticket but was seized after passing through security. Prosecutors determined that Tounisi had spent four months previously conducting online research related to overseas travel and engaging in violent jihad, with a specific focus on Syria.
In 2015, Tounisi pled guilty to an attempt to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Under the plea agreement that followed, it was revealed that Tounisi had made online contact in 2013 with an individual he assumed to be a recruiter for the terrorist organization, but who turned out to be an employee of the FBI.
Tounisi was a close friend of Adel Daoud, who was arrested in September 2012 following an attempt to detonate a bomb outside a bar in Chicago. Daoud is currently awaiting trial.
The FBI consequently led the investigation through its Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force. U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan presided over the sentencing.