Texas man charged with supporting Islamic State group

DALLAS – Federal prosecutors say a North Texas man who was captured by military forces in Syrian has been charged with supporting the Islamic State.

In July, a grand jury indicted 23-year-old Omer Kuzu on one count of conspiring to support a foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas says Kuzu made a first appearance in a Dallas court Thursday and pleaded not guilty.

A criminal complaint states Kuzu and his brother left their home in the Dallas suburb of Plano in 2014, travelled to Turkey and were then smuggled across the Syrian border to join IS. Prosecutors say Kuzu was captured by Syrian forces in early 2019, recently transferred to FBI custody and then returned to Texas.

Kuzu’s public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.