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Illinois Man, 19, Arrested at Chicago Airport Allegedly on His Way to Join the Islamic State
In this image shot with an extreme telephoto lens and through haze from the outskirts of Suruc at the Turkey-Syria border, militants with the Islamic State group are seen after placing their group's flag on a hilltop at the eastern side of the town of Kobani, Syria, where fighting had been intensified between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Islamic State group, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014. Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab and its surrounding areas have been under attack since mid-September, with militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages. The flag is indicating that the jihadists may have regrouped and broken through the Kurdish lines. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis

Illinois Man, 19, Arrested at Chicago Airport Allegedly on His Way to Join the Islamic State

Federal authorities said they arrested a 19-year-old Illinois man who was trying to travel to the Middle East to join the Islamic State terror group.

Mohammed Hamzah Khan was charged Monday with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Chicago's WMAQ-TV reported. Prosecutors said he was arrested Saturday at O'Hare International Airport while waiting to board a flight to Vienna, from where he planned to go on to Istanbul and ultimately to Syria, NBC News reported.

According to NBC, a federal affidavit said Khan purchased a roundtrip ticket to depart Chicago on Saturday and return Thursday. He was stopped by federal agents who observed him going through airport security. Afterward, agents executing a search warrant at his home said they found "multiple handwritten documents that appeared to be drafted by Khan and/or others, which expressed support for ISIL,"  the affidavit said.

According to WMAQ, the afidavit said Khan wrote a letter urging his parents not to go to the police and saying he was obligated to "migrate" to the Islamic State.

Khan's parents were present in court Monday but did not comment, ABC News reported. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.

According to NBC, Khan is the 13th American accused of trying to join the Islamic State or Syria's Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.

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