ISIS-Linked ‘Russian Nationals’ Arrested in ICE Raids Across Three States

A group of men with suspected ties to ISIS have been arrested in cities across the U.S., it has been reported.

Six Russian nationals, who hail from Tajikistan, a post-Soviet republic in Central Asia, were detained in a coordinated sting operation spanning Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia, reported The New York Post, citing two unnamed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources.

Two others were also arrested followed months of surveillance by a multi-agency Joint Terrorism Task Force, reported NBC, which did not mention the Russian links.

Newsweek has contacted ICE for comment by email.

Initial vetting did not set off any alarm bells about the targets when they had crossed the southern border, Fox News reported. At least two of the men had crossed into the U.S. in spring 2023, and NBC said one had used the CBP app that allows migrants to book appointments to claim asylum.

One of those arrested had been wiretapped and was talking about bombs, The NY Post reported.

“Remember the Boston marathon?” one of ICE sources told the newspaper, referring to the 2013 Islamist terrorist attack at the finish line of the race. “Something like that might happen again or worse.”

Sources told NBC that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force had been monitoring the men for months during an investigation into a potential terrorist threat.

The group’s members have not been charged with a terrorist connection or plot yet but the FBI alerted ICE they should be arrested because of potential ties to ISIS, and they were arrested on immigration charges, NBC reported.

The outlet said the group faces removal proceedings before an immigration judge, but could later face terrorism-related charges.

The Department of Homeland Security and FBI said in a joint statement to The Post that ICE agents had “arrested several noncitizens pursuant to immigration authorities” in coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces.

“The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” the statement added.

In April, ICE arrested a man from Uzbekistan with alleged ISIS ties in Baltimore, who had been living in the U.S. for two years, NBC reported.

That month, FBI Director Chris Wray told a House Appropriations subcommittee about the threat of possible ISIS terror plots being staged in the U.S. and the group’s ability to exploit the southern border.

“Increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland,” he said, warning that such an incident might resemble the bombings at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow in March, which killed 145 people and wounded hundreds more.