Man facing U.S. terrorism charges to appear in Houston court

A Palestinian born in Iraq who entered the United States as a refugee more than five years ago is due to appear in federal court in Houston on Friday on charges he supplied support to Islamic State and lied to U.S. officials.Omar Faraj Saeed Al-Hardan, thought to be 24, was one of two Middle Eastern men whose arrests on terrorism-related charges U.S. authorities announced Thursday.
Neither was charged with plotting an attack on the United States. More than 75 U.S. residents allegedly radicalized by Muslim militants have been arrested since 2014.
Al-Hardan, granted legal permanent residency status in the United States in August 2011, is charged with aiding Islamic State by offering himself up for its services as well as knowingly providing material support to the militant group, an indictment unsealed on Thursday said.
He also faces two charges about providing false information to U.S. officials concerning his ties to a terrorist organization and being provided weapons training, it said.
In Sacramento, the U.S. Department of Justice said Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, came to the United States in 2012 as a refugee from Syria.
Al-Jayab was arrested on Thursday on a federal charge of making a false statement involving international terrorism, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The U.S. attorney for Sacramento, Benjamin Wagner, said in a statement there were no indications Al-Jayab had planned any attacks in the United States.
The two men may have been in contact with each other, a source familiar with the case said.