A Dearborn Heights man is in federal custody, charged with terrorism for plotting to travel to Syria “in order to fight alongside Hizballah,” according to court documents, Tresa Baldas reports in the Free Press.
Hizballah is a well-known, worldwide organization in Lebanon that has been linked to numerous terrorist attacks, including suicide truck bombings of U.S. embassies and the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847, during which a U.S. Navy diver was murdered.
Mohammad Haffan Hamdan, 22, was arrested at Detroit Metro Airport on Sunday night after clearing a security checkpoint, but prior to boarding an Air France flight bound for Paris and then to Lebanon.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court today, Hamdan’s sister knew of his plans to fight with Hizballah and tried to stop that from happening by taking his Lebanese passport. Hamdan, a Lebanese national who came to the United States in 2007, is a permanent resident. He applied to become a U.S. citizen last November.
Hamdan’s attorney, Art Weiss, was not immediately available for comment.
