A US citizen was apprehended in Nairobi over alleged terrorist activities. The man identified as Karrem Nasr who operated under the alias Ghareeb Al-Muhajir was charged for attempting to provide material support to the terrorism group Al Shabaab.
Notably, the charges on Karrem Nasr, who is a resident of Lawrenceville, New Jersey carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
This arrest was announced through a press statement by the US Department of Justice dated 29th December 2023.
“NASR, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody in Nairobi, Kenya, on December 14, 2023, and was transported to the United States yesterday, December 28, 2023. NASR will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses in Manhattan federal court later today,” the presser stated.
Additionally, according to the US Department of Justice, Karrem Nasr had devoted himself to waging a violent jihad against America and its allies.
This was evident through some of his posts on his X account.
“Jihad on your home turf. Coming to a location near you,” Karrem Nasr posted on his X account, raising jitters on his intentions.
Further, Karrem dedicated his X account to spreading violent terrorism posts including videos indicating jihad violence by extremist group Al Qaeda.
Additionally, the press statement indicated that Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said, “As alleged, Karrem Nasr, motivated by the heinous terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, devoted himself to waging violent jihad against America and its allies.”
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Further, Damian Williams explained the journey of hate that Karrem Nasr had taken.
Kareem Nasr Journey of Terrorism
Consequently, Nasr booked a flight for December 14, 2023, from Egypt to Kenya for purposes of ultimately joining and training with al Shabaab.
“Nasr, a citizen of this country, traveled from Egypt to Kenya bent on joining and training with Al Shabaab so that he could execute his jihadist mission of death and destruction.
Nasr was prepared to kill and be killed to support the jihadist cause and in his own words, he described America as ‘evil’ and the ‘head of the snake’,” the statement further reads.
Also, Kareem Nasr took specific steps to join and receive military training from Al Shabaab, including making flight and lodging reservations for travel to Kenya.
According to the statement, while in Kenya, Nasr planned to meet members of Al Shabaab for further travel to Somalia to join and train with the group.
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In addition, approximately the day before his flight, Nasr told the CS that he planned to delete data from his cellphone and computer to ensure that if he were detained, law enforcement would not be able to recover evidence of his jihadist activities from those devices.
However, later that day, Nasr was taken into custody by Kenyan authorities.
