Eight Tajik nationals with ties to ISIS were arrested in three major cities by a joint U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) anti-terrorism task force, a federal government source confirmed to Fox News.
Sources said the arrests took place in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia in recent days.
All eight Tajik nationals crossed the U.S. southern border illegally, but no damaging information was initially reported to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during the investigation process, according to a federal official familiar with the sting.
A federal source told Fox News the terrorism suspect was “thoroughly investigated” and no findings were found.
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According to Fox News sources, after the terrorism suspect was released into the US, derogatory information was published that raised national security concerns, including ties to ISIS.
Undercover operation First reported Jenny Tarr of the New York Post.
Tarr’s report said wiretaps were conducted as part of the investigation and revealed that one of the people now under arrest had spoken about the bomb.
“Remember the Boston Marathon? [bombing]”They’re worried that something like this could happen again, or even worse,” one source told The Post.
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In response to inquiries about the Fox News report, the FBI and ICE issued a joint statement.
“Over the past few days, ICE agents have arrested several aliens at the direction of immigration authorities. This action was conducted in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. The arrested individuals are being held in ICE custody facilities pending completion of removal proceedings. As the FBI and DHS recently stated in public and partner bulletins, the United States is in an elevated threat environment. The FBI and DHS continue to work with our partners around the clock to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to our national security.” – DHS/FBI Joint Statement
