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New Haven County resident Ahmad Khalil Elshazly, of West Haven, pleaded guilty Wednesday, Nov. 30, to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, United States Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.
In September 2018, Elshazly expressed a desire to travel to Syria and the surrounding area and fight on behalf of ISIS, the US Attorney's Office said.
In conversions both online and in person, he pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to the report.
On Dec. 14, 2019, he paid an individual who he believed was an ISIS facilitator $500, believing the individual would be able to smuggle him out of the US to Turkey, Avery said.
The US Attorney's Office said Elshazly thought traveling to Turkey would allow him to connect with ISIS members who would help him travel to ISIS in Syria.
Elshazly was arrested on Dec. 15, 2019, when he arrived in Stonington, where he was expecting to board a boat to start his trip, according to the report.
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