Authorities have detained eight suspected terrorists with possible ties to ISIS in a coordinated operation across major U.S. cities. Federal sources revealed that all eight individuals were “fully vetted and released into the U.S.” after crossing the southern border in 2023 and 2024.
Deportation efforts underway
Efforts are now underway to deport the detained suspects. However, authorities told ABC News that they currently lack sufficient evidence to bring terrorism charges against them.
Wiretap reveals bomb-related discussions
The investigation, jointly conducted by the FBI and ICE, featured a wiretap that captured one of the suspected terrorists discussing bombs. The New York Post first broke the story, and NBC reported that at least one of those arrested entered the U.S. using the CBP One App which allows migrants to make appointments for asylum-seeking purposes.
Origin and ISIS connection
The eight arrested individuals are originally from Tajikistan. Notably, it was ISIS members from the same country who carried out a deadly attack on a concert hall in Russia last March, resulting in the loss of 145 lives.
FBI director’s concerns
FBI Director Christopher Wray has repeatedly emphasized the heightened threat of domestic terrorism in the U.S. He warned last year that a terror attack could occur on American soil. Recent events have only intensified these concerns.
“I touched on this earlier, but there was already a heightened risk of violence in the United States before Oct. 7,” Wray said. “Since then, we’ve seen a rogue’s gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against Americans and our allies. And given those calls for action, our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home. But now, on top of that, increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, not unlike the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia concert hall back in March.”
