Two young men, both U.S. citizens, were arrested on charges of trying to "provide material support to terrorists," with one of them allegedly planning to join insurgents' fighting in Syria, U.S. media reported Wednesday.
Rahatul Ashikim Khan and Michael Todd Wolfe, both 23 and resident in Austin, Texas, were arrested separately Tuesday by the Central Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force, daily newspaper the Austin American-Statesman reported, quoting court documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Khan, born in Bangladesh, is a full-time student at the University of Texas. Authorities says he conspired to recruit people to travel overseas to support terrorist activities. The complaint charged Khan with using an Internet chat room to spot and recruit people for "committing violent Jihad overseas."
The other man, Wolfe, was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston when he was boarding a flight to Europe.
Investigators say Wolfe was planning to travel to the Middle East to provide his services to radical groups engaged in armed conflict in Syria.
Both men face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000 U.S. dollars if convicted. Both are in federal custody with a detention hearing scheduled for Friday.?