Bay Ridge man allegedly turned ISIS sniper charged in federal court
A Brooklyn man who ditched the borough in 2013 to fight for ISIS was charged Friday with providing material support to the terrorist organization, federal prosecutors announced.
Ruslan Maratovich Asainov lived in Brooklyn from 1998 to 2013, when he traveled to Turkey and then subsequently to Syria, allegedly to join the Islamic State. Asainov was a sniper for ISIS and attempted to recruit more Americans to the group, according to prosecutors. He rose through the ranks, becoming an “emir” in charge of teaching other ISIS fighter to use weapons, federal prosecutors said.
The criminal complaint unsealed against Asainov did not state whether or not he killed anyone in Syria.