“A Michigan man was convicted by a federal jury today [1/31/2023] in the Eastern District of Michigan on charges of providing, attempting to provide, and conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in connection with his support for ISIS in Syria from 2015-2018. He was also convicted of receiving military-type training from ISIS while in Syria.
Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 32, of Dearborn, was convicted after a nine-day trial conducted before U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson in Detroit. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours before returning the guilty verdict. …
Evidence provided during the trial established that Musaibli, originally born in Dearborn, moved to Yemen in April 2015. From Yemen, he traveled to Syria in the fall of 2015 where he attended an ISIS-run religious training camp before undergoing military training where he learned to shoot, carry and otherwise handle a machine gun. Upon graduation from the ISIS military training camp, Musaibli swore allegiance to ISIS and its leader and remained with ISIS for over two and half years. Musaibli was eventually captured by Syrian Democratic Forces in 2018 and turned over to the FBI and flown back to the United States to face terrorism related charges.
Musaibli faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison when he is sentenced. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”
– United States Department of Justice, “Michigan Man Convicted of Charges of Providing Material Support to ISIS,” justice.gov, January 31, 2023
Editor’s notes:
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Musaibli was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on June 15, 2023 with five years credit for time served. See The Associated Press, “Michigan Man Gets 14 Years in Prison for Fighting for Islamic State,” nbcnews.com, June 16, 2023
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According to most historians of the Islamic State (also referred to as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh), “the group emerged out of al-Qaeda in Iraq as a response to the U.S. invasion in 2003.” See Hassan Hassan, “The True Origins of ISIS,” theatlantic.com, November 30, 2018, for more information.