A Canadian national who lived in Southern California was sentenced to 20 years in U.S. prison on Monday for helping at least a half-dozen Canadians and Americans join the Islamic State group in Syria in 2013 and 2014 — including the first known American to die fighting for the militant organization.
Abdullahi Ahmed Abdullahi directly funded “violent acts of terrorism,” including the kidnapping and killing of people in Syria, said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman in a statement.
Abdullahi acknowledged in a plea agreement that he helped a resident of San Diego, Douglas McAuthur McCain, join IS. McCain was killed in Syria while fighting alongside IS fighters against Syrian opposition forces in 2014.
Prosecutors also said Abdullahi provided money to send an 18-year-old cousin from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to join IS fighters in Syria, as well as three other cousins from Edmonton, Canada.
