ISIS Recruiter Sentenced in US Court to Life in Prison

Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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ISIS Recruiter Sentenced in US Court to Life in Prison

Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

A Kosovo-born New York resident who helped supply "thousands" of recruits to ISIS was sentenced to life in prison for helping the extremist group, the Justice Department announced.

Mirsad Kandic, 40, was a high-ranking member of the militant group between 2013 and 2017, when it controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria, the Justice Department said.

In 2013, he left his home in New York and traveled to Syria, where he joined ISIS, becoming a fighter in Haritan, outside Aleppo.

After that time, he was directed to move to Türkiye to help smuggle foreign fighters and weapons for the group into Syria, it said.

He was also an emir for ISIS media, the department said Friday, disseminating the group's propaganda and recruitment messages online, including via more than 120 Twitter accounts.

As recruiter, "he sent thousands of radicalized ISIS volunteer fighters from Western countries into ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East," the Justice Department said.

One recruited volunteer was a fellow New Yorker, Ruslan Asainov, who became a sniper for the ISIS and was convicted in February of providing material support to a designated terror group, Agence France Presse reported.

Another was Australian teen Jake Bilardi, who was lured into ISIS in 2014 before killing himself and more than 30 Iraqi soldiers in a March 2015 suicide bomb attack.

By early 2017, Kandic was hiding in Bosnia under a pseudonym. He was arrested in July 2017 in Sarajevo and extradited to the United States three months later.

He was convicted in a jury trial in May 2022 of conspiracy along with five counts of providing support to ISIS.



Indian Troops Exchanged Fire with Pakistani Soldiers in Disputed Kashmir

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers stand guard at the entrance of the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, about 35kms from Amritsar on April 24, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers stand guard at the entrance of the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, about 35kms from Amritsar on April 24, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
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Indian Troops Exchanged Fire with Pakistani Soldiers in Disputed Kashmir

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers stand guard at the entrance of the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, about 35kms from Amritsar on April 24, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers stand guard at the entrance of the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, about 35kms from Amritsar on April 24, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)

Indian officials said the army had a brief exchange of fire with Pakistani soldiers along their highly militarized frontier in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, as the nuclear-armed rivals ramped up tit-for-tat diplomatic offensive following a deadly attack on tourists.

The report of a gunfight comes amid soaring tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad after gunmen killed 26 people near the resort town of Pahalgam in Kashmir on Tuesday. India immediately described the massacre a “terror attack” and said it had “cross border” links, blaming Pakistan for backing it.

Pakistan denied any connection to the attack, which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance, The Associated Press said.

Three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers used small arms to fire at an Indian position in Kashmir late Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.

In Pakistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday declined to confirm or deny the report. Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told a news conference that “I will wait for a formal confirmation from the military before I make any comment."

He added there had been no effort yet from any other country to mediate.

In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety.

The United Nations has urged India and Pakistan “to exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further.”

“Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully, through meaningful, mutual engagement,” the statement said Friday.

Following the attack, India announced a series of diplomatic actions against Pakistan.

New Delhi on Wednesday suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the two countries and closed the only functional land border crossing between the countries while also cutting the number of diplomatic staff. A day later, India revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals with effect from Sunday.

In retaliation, Pakistan on Thursday responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack, and canceled visas issued to Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country.

It also warned that any Indian attempt to stop or divert flow of water would be considered an “act of war” and met with “full force across the complete spectrum” of Pakistan’s national power.

Tuesday’s attack in Kashmir was the worst assault in years, targeting civilians in the restive region that has seen an anti-India rebellion for more than three decades.

India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir. New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.