United States Officials have reported the arrest of an Iraqi man who used to be a foot soldier for the Islamic State on United States soil.
The Iraqi man accused of killing for the Islamic State gained entry into the United States as a refugee, claiming to be a victim of terrorism.
The former Islamic State fighter identified as 45 year old Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, was arrested in California on Wednesday and is expected to be extradited to Iraq under an extradition treaty between the two countries.
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He was charged to a Federal Court in Sacramento after being arrested at an apartment building in the State capital.
According to the United States Officials, the former Islamic State fighter fled Iraq to Turkey in 2012 from where he applied as a refugee to the U.S.
He had been granted that status in June 2014 after which he returned to Iraq and killed a police officer in the town of Rawah after it fell to the Islamic State; Ameen traveled to the United States to be resettled as a refugee five months later.
Ameen was arrested by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on account of a warrant issued in May by an Iraqi federal court in Baghdad; Ameen faces execution for organized killing by an armed group if extradited.
This arrest comes in the face of criticisms from President Donald Trump That his predecessor; Barrack Obama did not do enough to keep terrorists out of the United States.
Officials said Ameen had failed to disclose his membership of two terrorist organisations when he applied for a green card in the United States and attorneys haven’t yet decided if they were going to contest Ameen’s identity as the actual wanted man in Iraq.
The State Department said additional checks have since been implemented in the face of heavy criticism from Donald Trump.
“The U.S. government identified and implemented additional security screening procedures to enable departments and agencies to more thoroughly review refugee applicants to identify potential threats to public safety and national security, with additional vetting for certain nationals of certain high-risk countries,” the State Department affirmed in a statement.
According to Iraqi court documents, Ameen had been identified by several witnesses who saw him kill for the Islamic State
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force which has been investigating Ameen since 2016 also confirmed Ameen’s involvement with the Islamic State independently.
The FBI revealed that Ameen was part of a four-vehicle Islamic State caravan that opened fire on the home of the Rawah police officer, Ihsan Abdulhafiz Jasim; Ameen had shot and killed the police officer as he lay wounded on the ground, the FBI said.
Ameen had also helped to plant improvised bombs, transported militants, solicited funds, robbed supply trucks and kidnapped drivers on behalf of Al-Qaeda before the rise of the Islamic State.