New York state pizza shop owner admits trying to deliver recruits to Islamic State

A Yemen-born pizza shop owner in New York State has admitted he tried to recruit fighters for the Islamic State group in Syria.

Mufid Elfgeeh, 31, a naturalised U.S. citizen, helped arrange travel and funding and put one recruit in touch with an English-speaking Islamic State contact in Iraq via Facebook, authorities said Thursday.

Elfgeeh pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation under a plea agreement that recommends a sentence of just under 22 ½ years in prison.

He was arrested by the Joint Terrorism Task Force in May 2014 after buying two handguns and silencers that investigators say he planned to use to kill returning US soldiers. US Attorney William Hochul Jr said Elfgeeh was one of the first Islamic State recruiters ever arrested in the United States.

“Elfgeeh wanted to be a source of support for violent jihad and serve as a facilitator for violent jihadists who wanted to travel overseas and fight,” the plea agreement said. “In Elfgeeh's own postings and messages on social media and statements ... Elfgeeh stated that a person who helps or sponsors a fighter to engage in violent jihad obtains the same religious rewards from Allah (God) as the fighter himself.”

Under the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a charge of attempting to kill military members and weapons counts, as well as charges of assaulting three sheriff's deputies while in custody.