Six Russian nationals suspected to have terror ties to ISIS have been arrested in a coordinated sting operation spanning Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia, The Post can exclusively reveal.
Two ICE sources confirmed to The Post they arrested the six people, who hail from Tajikistan, over the last week after the FBI contacted the agency to warn it.
Part of the investigation featured a wiretap which revealed one of the now-arrested individuals was talking about bombs, the sources said.
“Remember the Boston marathon [bombing]? I’m afraid something like that might happen again or worse,” one of the sources told The Post.
The target who was subject to the wiretap was previously released by federal authorities at the southern border with a court date next year, but it has since emerged he has potential ties to ISIS, sources said.
In a joint statement, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI told The Post: “Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities.
“The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces.
The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings … The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security.
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The arrests come after warnings from FBI Director Chris Wray about possible ISIS terror plots being staged on US soil and the group’s potential for exploiting the southern border.
In April, Wray warned lawmakers that a possible “coordinated attack” could take place in the US following an ISIS-K attack on a concert hall in Moscow — carried out by citizens of Tajikistan — that killed 145 people and wounded hundreds more.
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