NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Long Island man has pleaded guilty to trying to travel to Syria to “engage in violent jihad” on behalf of ISIS, prosecutors say.
Elvis Redzepagic, 30, of Commack, entered the guilty plea in Central Islip court on Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a press release.
Prosecutors say Redzepagic started communicating with someone he believed to be a member of ISIS and a commander of a battalion in Syria in early 2015.
Redzepagic traveled to Turkey in July of that year, but was unable to successfully cross the border into Syria, prosecutors said.
He tried to enter Syria through Jordan the following summer, but Jordanian authorities stopped him and deported him, according to prosecutors.
After his first trip, Redzepagic sent Facebook messages explaining that he had traveled to Turkey to “perform Jihad and join Jabhat Al-Nusra,” prosecutors said.
After he was arrested, the Long Island resident “admitted that at the time he attempted to enter Syria, he was prepared to strap a bomb to himself,” the attorney’s office said.
“Redzepagic, a Long Island resident, admitted that he attempted to travel to Syria on several occasions to wage jihad on behalf of ISIS and other organizations dedicated to violence and mass destruction,” Mark Lesko, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.
“This office is committed to preventing the spread of terrorism by stopping individuals like the defendant in their tracks and prosecuting them before they are able to harm the United States and its allies,” he added.
Redzepagic faces up to 20 years in prison, the attorney's office said. His attorney information wasn't immediately available Friday.