New York: A Pakistani doctor has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for having ties to the Islamic State (ISIS) and plotting attacks on the United States. Mohammad Masood is a 31-year-old doctor working in America on H-1B visa. According to court documents, Masood was a licensed medical doctor in Pakistan and worked as a research associate at a medical clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, under an H-1B visa. Masood came into contact with IS in early 2020.
Masood pleaded guilty in August last year and Senior Judge Paul A. He was sentenced before Magnuson. However, Masood will not have to serve the full term of the 18-year sentence. As punishment, he will have to spend five years under government supervision. Masood ran a continuous campaign against America under a false identity on the Internet. He was also in touch with IS leadership on social media.
Masood also expressed his desire to carry out “lone wolf” terrorist attacks in the United States. He appealed to IS leaders to attack America. Masood’s plan was that he would do the sabotage alone. In February of that year, Masoud bought a plane ticket from Chicago, Illinois to Amman, the capital of Jordan. From there he made a plan to go to Syria and take training in an IS camp. Masood had to cancel his plan. Because the Jordanian government has canceled all flights to prevent the spread of Corona virus. Masood was caught a few months later.
Between January 2020 and March 2020, Masood used an encrypted messaging application to facilitate overseas travel to join a terrorist organization. Massoud made several statements regarding his desire to join the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and pledged allegiance to the designated terrorist organization and its leader.
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Tags: American news, ISIS terrorists, Pakistan
First published: August 26, 2023, 13:43 IST