American jailed for 15 years for trying to join IS

A 24-year-old Jordanian-American was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday after acknowledging he tried to join the Islamic State (IS) group.

Alaa Saadeh, of New Jersey, was arrested in June of last year and pleaded guilty on 29 October.

The specific charge was conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist group.

Saadeh was accused of having planned to join IS and of helping his younger brother Nader leave the United States to join the group in Syria in May 2015.

"Saadeh didn't just plan to join ISIL, he facilitated his brother’s overseas travel and deliberately took steps to conceal the scheme from law enforcement,” said US Attorney Paul Fishman of the District of New Jersey, using a different acronym for IS.

The brothers were believed to have embraced a militant version of Islam some time after 2013.

Back in October, his lawyer said that Saadeh regretted his attempted involvement with the group and that he has no criminal background.

“He’s prepared to serve his sentence for the crime he committed, and he deeply regrets any involvement whatsoever. He has no history of violence, no history of being involved in anything like this.”

Their parents were expelled from the United States several years ago after an unspecified conviction.

The father lives in Oman and the mother in Jordan.

Eighty-one US men and women have been charged for their involvement with IS. Of those, 32 have been convicted. According to a Washington Post report, men outnumber women by a factor of six to one, and one person is a minor.