Spring Man Pleads Guilty To Aiding ISIS

HOUSTON, TX — A 23-year old Houston area man has plead guilty in federal court to providing material aid to ISIS.

U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes accepted the guilty plea of Asher Abid Khan, of Spring, in a court hearing on Dec 4.

Hughes set Kahn’s sentencing for March 5, 2018 at 1:30 p.m.

Khan faces up to 15 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 for aiding the terrorist organization against the United States.

Federal authorities began investigating in 2014 when Khan and his friend, who was living in South Texas, devised a plan to travel to Turkey and then to Syria for the purpose of fighting on behalf of ISIS.

Khan was living with a relative in Australia, and before leaving for Turkey from there, Khan told Mohamed Zuhbi, a Turkish-based foreign terrorist fighter facilitator, that he wanted to join ISIS.

Khan provided instructions to his friend on travel and how to reach him once he arrived in Turkey.

During this part of the planning phase, it was Khan - not his friend - who was in touch with Zuhbi.

On Feb. 24, 2014, Khan and his friend met in Istanbul, Turkey, and gave him money so that he could travel to

Syria and join and fight with ISIS.

Khan returned to the U.S. after his family tricked him into coming home to Houston because of an alleged hospitalization of his mother.

As soon as Khan returned to the U.S., he contacted Zuhbi with the purpose of introducing him to his friend so he could enter Syria and join ISIS as a fighter with Zuhbi’s help, and gave his friend a Turkish cell phone number for reaching Zuhbi.

The following day, Khan’s friend sent an electronic message to Khan indicating he had “been delivered” by Zuhbi, but that he was not with ISIS yet.

Over the next few months, the friend attended fighter training camps and stayed in touch with Zuhbi and Khan.
On Aug. 11, 2014, the friend finally made it to ISIS with Khan and Zuhbi’s assistance, and sometime after September 2014, all communications ended.

On Dec. 25, 2014, the friend’s mother received an electronic message explaining that her son had died while fighting.

Zuhbi is still at large and is believed to be residing in either Turkey or Syria.

There are pending criminal charges in the Southern District of Texas against Zubhi.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI at 713-693-5000.

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