The Department of Justice announced on June 29 that Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud pleaded guilty nearly two years ago to training with and fighting for Al Nusrah Front in Syria. Al Nusrah “instructed” Mohamud “to return to the US and commit an act of terrorism.” He admittedly planned to kill American “military officers or other government employees or people in uniform.”
The Islamic State has issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul in the early hours of New Year’s Day. Although the group had long been reticent to claim operations inside Turkey, both Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and his new spokesman called for such attacks in November and December.
On Oct. 3, two Tunisian citizens were detained at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport as they tried to enter Turkey with false passports, allegedly in connection to the killing of the US Ambassador to Libya.