Iraq-born US citizen sentenced to 25 years for ISIS recruitment

A Chicago man from Iraq who used social media to promote ISIS propaganda and encourage terrorist attacks has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, according to the Department of Justice.

Ashraf Al Safoo, 41, was convicted of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, through his role in an online propaganda network that pushed extremist content and called for violence.

Federal prosecutors say Al Safoo was a leader of the Khattab Media Foundation, a sophisticated pro-ISIS media operation that operated across social media platforms. The group worked directly with ISIS, producing and distributing videos, articles, and graphics designed to recruit followers and incite attacks.

According to court records, Al Safoo used the platform to explicitly encourage acts of terror. In one message, he urged members to spread ISIS content “to cause confusion and spread terror.” In another, he called on followers to “participate in the war” by amplifying propaganda and inciting others if they could not carry out attacks themselves.

Much of the material shared by Khattab glorified violence, including terrorist attacks and mass shootings in the United States, and promoted so-called “lone wolf” attacks in Western countries.

Al Safoo, who immigrated to the United States in 2008 and became a naturalized citizen in 2013, was arrested in Chicago in 2018 and has remained in federal custody since.

Following a bench trial in US District Court in Chicago, Judge John Robert Blakey found him guilty on multiple counts, including providing material support to a terrorist organization, transmitting threats, and unauthorized access to protected computers. On sentencing, Blakey handed down a 25-year prison term, followed by 10 years of supervised release.