Bosnian Charged with Attempting to Join ISIS

Bosnia’s state prosecution on Monday charged Ibro Cufurovic with taking part in terrorist activities and with fighting for so-called Islamic State in Syria, ISIS/L, from 2014 until April this year, when he was deported to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The prosecution says Cufurovic travelled to Turkey on April 21, 2014, from where he illegally went to Syria and joined ISIS/ISIL forces.

“The accused was in the region for almost five years, until April 20, 2019, where he, together with other persons from Bosnia who resided in Syria with the same intent, using the name ‘Abu Kasim Albosni’, participated in terrorist activities, and assisted and fought on the side of ISIL forces in Syria in the Bejt Komandos unit, which later changed its name to El Aqsa,” the Prosecution said in a statement.

It said that Cufurovic was charged with becoming a member of the terrorist group and with providing help for the same group.

The state court in Bosnia ordered custody for him, citing the danger of his escape. Cufurovic was extradited in April this year, becoming the first person to be deported to Bosnia after the fall of Islamic State.

Since 2012, about 200 men and 70 women from Bosnia have gone to the territory of Syria and Iraq. According to the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, about 60 Bosnian children were also taken to the area under ISIS/L control, 12 of whom were killed. SIPA members filed a report against 15 people from Bosnia late last year, and handed those reports to the State Prosecution Office.