A commercial passenger jet approaches Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Federal prosecutors said Saed Ali Mirreh bought a ticket from Seattle to Istanbul as part of a plan to travel to Syria and join ISIS.
SEATTLE — A 21-year-old Kent man pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring with others to travel to Syria and fight for the Islamic State group.
Saed Ali Mirreh entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Federal agents arrested him in November 2025 as he prepared to fly to Turkey and then cross into Syria, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Communications among the alleged conspirators showed they discussed participating in “jihad,” federal prosecutors said. They also discussed physical training, firearms, improvised explosive devices and methods for avoiding law enforcement.
Airline Ticket Purchased for Istanbul
Mirreh began communicating with others about traveling to Turkey as early as July 2025, according to his plea agreement. Their goal was to continue into Syria and join ISIS as fighters.
Prosecutors said Mirreh knew the United States had designated ISIS as a foreign terrorist organization.
In late October 2025, Mirreh bought an airline ticket from Seattle to Istanbul. The flight was scheduled for Nov. 16, 2025. He planned to meet other members of the conspiracy before traveling to Syria, according to federal officials.
However, the group changed its plans after authorities arrested alleged conspirators in Dearborn, Michigan, on Oct. 31, 2025. Prosecutors said those defendants had plotted an attack in the United States on behalf of ISIS.
Mirreh and alleged co-conspirator Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, 19, then moved their flight to Nov. 5. FBI agents arrested Mirreh at his Kent home one day before the scheduled departure.
Case Transferred to Seattle
Federal prosecutors originally charged Mirreh and Jimenez-Guzel in the District of New Jersey. Authorities transferred Mirreh’s case to the Western District of Washington earlier this month.
U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones scheduled Mirreh’s sentencing for Oct. 16.
Conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Mirreh also faces a potential $250,000 fine.
Under the plea agreement, Mirreh agreed not to appeal any sentence of 20 years or less. The federal government also agreed not to appeal if the court imposes a 20-year prison sentence.
The FBI investigated the case. Federal prosecutors in Washington and New Jersey are handling it with attorneys from the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.
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