Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 25, pleaded guilty late last year to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
US District Judge John Walter called the crime "a very serious offense that requires a correspondingly long sentence."
Nguyen, based outside Los Angeles and also known as Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, admitted that in late 2012 he traveled to Syria, where he joined forces fighting President Bashar al Assad.
During a four-month stay there, he posted online that he was fighting against the Assad regime, and that he had had a "confirmed kill."
After returning to the United States, Nguyen said he had offered to train al Qaeda forces in Syria, but had been turned down.
In a two-month period beginning in August, he met with someone he thought was an al Qaeda recruiter, but who was in fact working with the FBI undercover.
He told the contact about his time in Syria and said he wanted to return to fight because "this was what he was born to do."
Nguyen discussed traveling to Pakistan with a false US passport, to train about 30 al Qaeda fighters for 5-6 weeks "for a guerrilla warfare ambush attack on coalition forces" sometime in late 2013, according to a plea agreement.
He bought a plane ticket to Peshawar on October 1 and was arrested on October 11 as he prepared to leave. In his possession, he had a false passport and over 180 training videos on shooting firearms, court documents showed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case.
COMMENTS (11)
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The US itself funded these militants to defeat the Soviet in the Cold War in the name of Jihad, like what it is doing in the Syria in current times. Clearly this news, shows how the historical accident of 9/11 was fabricated to go for a war against these US made terrorist. Now, that the US has been defeated in the Afghanistan, it had to make sure the trial of concerned people but what about the left militants that the US is responsible for?
@Zain:
Very well said Sir. I myself am an engineer not onky working in US for over 5 years but also spent over a decade since start of my education. I have not yet come across even a single Pakistani described by Mr. "Professor". I am amazed how ET can allow people posting negative comments generalizing entire population.
@ Professor
It seems to wise committee of ET post moderation didn't allow my reply to be published. I had quite a few things to say to you. All I can say as a gentleman is that you should worry about situation in your own country. It wouldn't be nice if I generalized your country on something one or a group of people do.
The US are routinely training terrorists, but call them something else. This idiot just went to the wrong school or belonged to to the wrong club. However, one person in prison is better than none.
@Professor,
Do not lie please. I am Pakistani American, I am a medical professional. I can vouch that most Pakistanis in US are Professionals employed in Medical Field, or are Engineers, Business, Lawyers, Professors, etc. In fact there are 40,000 Physicians of Pakistani origin currently working in the US, one of the highest rates of minority Physicians.
Mr. Professor, Indians such as yourself, are also doing well in America and i am not ashamed or too arrogant to admit that, it does not make me any better to put down any person due to their national origin.
Great job! Please keep this fanatic filth in the jail. We do not want more fanatic murderers in Pakistan. In fact we must cleanse all the safe havens from our land.
Read & look the way FBI is uncovering these terrorists before they can cause any harm ( they have had no big act of terrorism post 9/11 ), while we have no such preventive action......no wonder we have more deaths and destruction, because we have no value for human lives, our govt and LEAs are corrupt and dishonest with no proper infiltration into the groups although we are in a more advantageous position due to similarity of culture and languages etc;....such pro-active step does not need big and expensive resources but the will to tackle the menace by its root....if someone has to comment on lack of resources as being an excuse.
@Azi: Most Pakistanis survive in the US doing menial jobs. They are not as educated as their other South-East Asian counterparts. Hence, to make life fulfilling they need a 'cause'. This is where these terrorist groups are so good. They keep their finger on the pulse. A good pitch from them will swing these disgruntled youth to their fold. Very few terrorists have had a successful career that they have given up for a 'cause'.
@Azi: Spot on man.
Stop fantasizing "WhyPakistan" and read the article again. He had never been to Pakistan and was just planning to come here. We do not have an excellent track record but don't blame us for something that was just a fiction and not a reality. Why dont you blame US authorities who allowed him to go to Syria and fight a war there.
People travel to US for better life, he travels to Pakistan for quick death. Whats wrong with these people..
Is it so easy for anyone to travel to Pakistan and train in firearms? It's a real shame that we waited this long to start military operation is NWA.