More information has emerged about eight Tajikistani men arrested by federal police earlier this month over suspected links to ISIS.
Federal law enforcement had obtained intelligence indicating that the eight men were in the U.S. and may have ties to ISIS, two sources familiar with the information said. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force opened an investigation into the men and investigators monitored their communications, the sources said, including monitoring their activities on social media such as chat rooms and encrypted sites, one of the sources said.
The FBI discovered that the individuals were in contact with bad actors with possible ties to ISIS. Researchers have received permission from the court FISA warrant and supervised. Officials were concerned that the men might be plotting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, the sources said.
The FBI, working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arrested the eight men. immigration charges in recent weeks in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.
The investigation is ongoing and at this time the men are not facing any terrorism-related charges.
According to the sources, there is no evidence that a specific targeted attack was planned. U.S. officials said there is no immediate threat to the homeland.
The Justice Department declined to comment, and the FBI declined to comment beyond what it said when the arrests took place.
The FBI and DHS said in a statement at the time that “the arrests were made in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces,” the agency said. The arrested individuals were in ICE custody pending deportation proceedings.
“As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the US is in a heightened threat environment,” the statement continued. “The FBI and DHS will continue to work with our partners around the clock to identify, investigate and disrupt potential threats to national security.”
