Northern Virginia Man On Trial For Supporting Islamic State

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- A Northern Virginia man faces trial Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria for providing material support to the Islamic State, the Associated Press reported.

Mohamad Khweis, 27, is one of over 100 Americans charged with terrorism-related offenses involving the Islamic State.

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Khweis grew up in northern Virginia and is a 2007 graduate of Edison High School in the Alexandria of Fairfax County. He had worked as a bus driver for the region’s Metro system, according to court documents. He left the U.S. in 2015 and was smuggled across the Syrian border by the Islamic State.

Prosecutors say Khweis went through a formal intake process and agreed to serve as a suicide bomber. He then took classes in Islamic law for weeks in Mosul. Khweis' lawyers say he attempted to flee after three months with the Islamic State.

Kurdish forces found him in Northern Iraq and discovered he had a Virginia driver's license. He was taken to a Kurdish prison, and his lawyers said he was willing to return to the U.S., even if he faced criminal charges.

Check back with Patch for an update on this case.

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Image via Tim Evanson/Flickr, used under Creative Commons