Elfgeeh warrants reveal extent of ISIL connection
As Syrian rebels hunkered down, trying to maintain control of the city of Homs while under assault from the forces of President Bashar Assad, a Rochester pizza shop owner more than 5,000 miles away tried to do what he could for the besieged rebel army.
There was another insurgent army that could come to the rescue of the rebels, Mufid Elfgeeh believed, according to federal court records unsealed Wednesday. And that army was the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
When Elfgeeh pleaded guilty in federal court last week to trying to recruit two men for ISIL, he acknowledged how he tried through social media to be a liaison between a rebel commander at Homs and ISIL forces. But the documents unsealed Wednesday show that the negotiations were much more extensive than previously acknowledged by federal officials or in court records.
The documents also pose a question still unanswered: Was Elfgeeh simply a lone self-radicalized individual, one who had expressed a willingness to kill returning American troops, or had he actually developed some contacts within terrorist circles in Syria and the Middle East?
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Via Facebook, Elfgeeh communicated with a man he believed to be a battalion commander under siege in Homs. Elfgeeh worked to link the commander with ISIL forces, with an understanding that the rebels would pledge allegiance to ISIL if helped.
The newly released records do not definitively state that the individuals communicating with Elfgeeh were rebel leaders and ISIL sympathizers. But Elfgeeh clearly believed the men on the other end of the social media connection where who they said they were, and the court documents — FBI affidavits seeking search warrants for Facebook communications — show that federal agents suspect the online conversations were authentic.
Elfgeeh's attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Mark Hosken, declined to comment Wednesday. Federal officials have also declined comment in the aftermath of Elfgeeh's guilty plea.
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The battle for control of Homs lasted almost three years, with anti-Assad forces once in control. But the rebels were eventually battered by the Assad regime military.
According to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Albert Zenner, Elfgeeh was in contact in March 2014 with a rebel who indicated that brigades in Homs "needed support to break a blockade." Elfgeeh suggested that ISIL could help, and Elfgeeh was put in contact with a battalion commander.
That individual emphasized that the situation was serious, and stated that they wanted Elfgeeh's guidance and support.
(The names of those whom Elfgeeh communicated with are redacted in the documents.)
Elfgeeh allegedly spoke via Facebook with the commander of the Green Battalion of the United Rebels of Homs-Al-Murabitun, which was blockaded within the city. The forces had unsuccessfully tried to connect with ISIL.
After further discussions about the siege "Elfgeeh agreed to contact a doctor in Egypt who Elfgeeh believed had connections with ISIL and see if he knew how to contact the leadership of ISIL."
On March 11, 2014, Elfgeeh exchanged Facebook messages with an individual, asking if he was with "the State," or ISIL. The man answered, "upon you is peace, God willing," which the FBI interpreted as an affirmative answer to Elfgeeh's question.
Elfgeeh said there were rebels in Homs who wanted to coordinate with an ISIL leader, and the individual messaged back that he would connect Elfgeeh with "one of the brothers" via Skype. Elfgeeh said he was "in the west" and couldn't communicate via Skype.
They discussed a way to connect the blockaded commander with "the Sheik," identified in the affidavit as a prominent ISIL leader, Umar al-Shishani, a commander who led numerous successful ISIL military operations.
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Elfgeeh then became the conduit, attempting to forward social media addresses between the rebels in Homs and individuals with ISIL. Whether those links were made is unclear.
On March 22, 2014, Elfgeeh showed an informant working for the FBI his list of Facebook friends. He identified one as a rebel leader fighting in Homs, and said, "we are coordinating with them on the grounds that they want to pledge allegiance to the State (ISIL) and they would like the State to support them with ammunition and weapons."
Weeks later, Elfgeeh told the informant that he believed the commander had been "martyred," or killed in battle.
Elfgeeh is scheduled to be sentenced March 17. His plea agreement calls for a sentence of 22½ years, but U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wolford will ultimately decide the sentence.
Elfgeeh ran a pizza shop and mini-mart on North Clinton Avenue when he was arrested in a sting in May 2014 by the FBI, Rochester police and other law enforcement agencies are members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
GCRAIG@Gannett.com