An airline mechanic who claimed he sabotaged a plane’s controls because he was disgruntled about union contract negotiations “may have ties to ISIS,” Local 10 reports.
Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani was arrested earlier this month after authorities say he altered equipment on a July flight from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas.
Via Local 10: According to federal prosecutors, Islamic State group propaganda video showing graphic murders was discovered on Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani’s cellphone.
A co-worker also told government officials that Alani had once said his brother was a member of ISIS and that he traveled to Iraq in March to visit him.
Alani’s roommate, however, told authorities the trip was not to visit his brother, but had been because his brother had been kidnapped, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said photos on his phone from his trip to Baghdad and Mosul show him smiling and posing with relatives and said he did not appear to be in distress in any of the images.
Alani was born in Iraq but is a U.S. citizen.
According to prosecutors, authorities discovered a November 2018 article that had been sent to him about one of the Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes. The article described the plane having issues with its ADM system. – READ MORE