An American citizen who allegedly traveled to Syria and became a sniper and weapons instructor for ISIS has been charged by federal authorities with supporting the terrorist organization, prosecutors said Friday.
Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Kazakhstan, was charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Brooklyn federal court.
“The defendant, a naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Brooklyn, turned his back on the country that took him in and joined ISIS, serving its violent ends in Syria and attempting to recruit others to its cause,” stated United States Attorney Richard Donoghue for the Eastern District of New York. “Our counterterrorism prosecutors and law enforcement partners will continue working relentlessly to hold accountable those like the defendant who have supported ISIS’s violent agenda.”
According to the unsealed complaint, Asainov, 42, first traveled to Turkey in late 2013. From there, he entered into Syria and allegedly enlisted to join ISIS as a fighter, according to the charges.