More information emerges about 8 Tajikistani men arrested in U.S. for suspected ISIS ties

More information has emerged about eight Tajikistani men arrested earlier this month by federal law enforcement for suspected ties to ISIS.

Federal law enforcement had acquired intelligence information indicating the eight men were inside the U.S. and had possible ties to ISIS, according to two sources familiar with the information. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force opened an investigation into the men, and investigators monitored their communications, the sources said, including following their activities on social media like chat rooms and encrypted sites, according to one of the sources. 

The FBI discovered that the individuals were in contact with bad actors with potential ties to ISIS. Investigators obtained a court-authorized FISA warrant and conducted surveillance. Officials were concerned that the men could have been plotting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, the sources said.