FBI Arrests 2 Men In Southern California For Plotting To Join ISIS

Two men, attempting to travel abroad to join the Islamic State group, were arrested in Southern California by the FBI late on Thursday on terrorism-related charges, NBC News reported, citing law enforcement officials. One of the men was arrested from Los Angeles International Airport, while the other was apprehended in Orange County.

The two men, who were reportedly described as “homegrown violent extremists,” will now be produced before a federal court in Santa Ana on Friday, Reuters reported, citing FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. Although details of the operation that led to their arrest have not been revealed yet, the men are not believed to have posed any domestic threat, NBC News reported.

The FBI, as part of a Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation, has also served two search warrants in relation to the case.

In recent months, several people have been arrested in the U.S. for plotting to travel to Syria to join the ranks of the Islamic State group. Last month, after a 10-month investigation, six young Somali Americans were arrested in Minneapolis and San Diego for attempting to join ISIS.

According to some estimates, about 20,000 foreign fighters from 90 countries, including nearly 150 Americans, are believed to be fighting alongside ISIS in Iraq and Syria, creating what has been called the “largest convergence of Islamist terrorists in world history.”