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US Teen Appears in Court on Terror Charges


A teenager in the Midwestern U.S. state of Illinois accused of planning to join an al-Qaida linked group in Syria appeared in a Chicago federal court Tuesday, charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorism.

The FBI arrested 18-year-old Abdella Ahmad Tounisi in Chicago late Friday as he prepared to board a plane for Turkey. A federal judge is expected to decide next week whether to release Tounisi on bond or keep him in custody.

Authorities say Tounisi, a U.S. citizen, made online contact with an FBI agent posing as a terrorist recruiter. Tounisi reportedly told the agent he was willing to die for the cause and was planning to travel to Syria through Turkey.

An FBI statement says Tounisi is a close friend of Adel Daoud, who is charged with trying to detonate a bomb outside a Chicago bar last year.

But the agency says Tounisi has no connection to last week's deadly bombing attack in Boston.

If convicted, Tounisi faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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