Man Convicted For Helping NYC College Student Join ISIS In Syria

NEW YORK, NY — An Arizona man was found guilty of four federal terrorism charges in Manhattan federal court Monday for helping an NYC college student travel to Syria to fight with ISIS in 2015, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Prosecutors said Ahmed Mohammed el-Gammal, 44, provided material support to Baruch College student Samy el-Goarany, 24. El-Gammal allegedly helped el-Goarany reach Syria, where he then trained with ISIS and was killed in battle.

"An Ambassador for ISIS right here in America, El Gammal actively touted and glamorized ISIS online, ultimately recruiting and helping a New York college student travel to an ISIS camp in Syria for military training," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bhahara said. "That New Yorker died waging jihad, and for El Gammal’s active role in sending him down that trail to terror, he now stands convicted of federal terrorism crimes.”

The two men met online after el-Goarany saw el-Gammal's online comments supporting ISIS. El-Gammal then traveled to New York to meet the college student, International Business Times reports.

Eventually, El-Gammal helped el-Goarany join the group and put him in contact with an associate in Turkey in order for him to reach Syria.

In November 2015, an unidentified person reached out to one of el-Goarany's relatives online and told them he was killed fighting in Syria.

El-Gammal's defense team said el-Goarany was a loner who became enamored with ISIS online. El-Gammal's lawyer said he was being made into a "scapegoat" and that the government was merely looking for someone to blame.

"To grow their brand of hate-filled violence and radicalization, terrorist organizations like ISIS need facilitators and promoters around the world," Bhahara said. "And the jury found today that Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal was one such terrorist facilitator."

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