Iraqi Man Pleads Not Guilty In Houston To US Terror Charges, Newspaper Reports

A Palestinian born in Iraq who entered the United States as a refugee more than five years ago pleaded not guilty in federal court in Houston on Wednesday to charges he supplied support to Islamic State and lied to U.S. officials, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Omar Faraj Saeed Al-Hardan, 24, was charged with offering his services and material support to the militant group, according to an indictment unsealed last week. He also faces two charges about giving false information to U.S. officials over his ties to Islamic State and being provided weapons training.

The most serious charge carries up to 25 years in prison.

Al-Hardan was granted legal permanent residency status in the United States in August 2011, though he is not yet a U.S. citizen.

In a second related case last week in Sacramento, the U.S. Department of Justice said Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, who came to the United States in 2012 as a refugee from Syria, was arrested on a federal charge of making a false statement involving international terrorism.

Neither was charged with plotting an attack on the United States.

More than 75 U.S. residents allegedly radicalized by Muslim militants have been arrested since 2014.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Alan Crosby)