A Syrian national extradited to the United States was sentenced to life in prison for making bomb components that were used in IED attacks against American soldiers fighting in Iraq.
Ahmed Alahmedalabdaloklah, aka Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Ahmad, 41, of Syria, was sentenced for several terrorism-related crimes including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction and conspiring to destroy U.S. property with explosives, the U.S. Department of Justice announced late Wednesday night.
Alahmedalabaloklah supported an insurgent group in Iraq and supplied parts for remote controlled IEDs that were used in roadside bombs. The insurgent group, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, was tied to 230 attacks against American soldiers and property.
He designed and supplied the components to the Iraqi group between January 2005 and July 2010.
U.S. military personnel during a search and seizure weapons mission discovered a IED-switch making factory in Baghdad. U.S. soldiers seized numerous items used to detonate IEDs, and over a thousand of Alahmedalabaloklah's fingerprints and palm prints were discovered in that cache, according to the DOJ.
"Alahmedalabdaloklah sought to harm American soldiers by conspiring with others to construct and supply improvised explosive device (IED) parts for bombs that were used in Iraq. He will now serve the rest of his life in prison," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers. "The National Security Division will continue to bring to justice those who seek to harm American servicemen and women who bravely risk their lives in defense of our nation."
Alahmedalabdaloklah moved to China and continued to support the 1920 Revolution Brigades by providing components for IEDs. Alahmedalabdaloklah was detained in Turkey in May 2011 while traveling and extradited to the United States in August 2014.
"We owe a debt of gratitude to all American military personnel serving overseas. Protecting and ensuring justice for them is a priority that cannot be overstated," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Strange. "Ahmed Alahmedalabdaloklah used his specialized engineering expertise to target our service members using IEDs, and his life sentence reflects the gravity of that choice. The U.S. attorney's office is deeply committed to prosecuting terrorist offenses, wherever they may occur."
Alahmedalabdaloklah who was found guilty by a federal jury on March 16 filed four post-trial motions including court dismissals and all were denied on Tuesday.