Afghan man on terror watchlist apprehended by ICE

An Afghan nationalist who is connected nan U.S. panic watchlist is backmost successful custody Friday, nan Department of Homeland Security said, aft he was antecedently captured astatine nan U.S.-Mexico separator and released doubly onto American soil. 

Mohammed Karwan is simply a personnel of Hezb-e-Islami, a group responsible for attacks successful Afghanistan that killed astatine slightest 9 American soldiers and civilians from 2013 to 2015, nan panic watchlist indicates, NBC reported.

Karwan was first apprehended successful March 2023 aft crossing into nan U.S. illegally adjacent San Ysidro, California.  

DHS officials show Fox News that Karwan was not connected nan panic watchlist during that apprehension and was referred to ICE, which released him connected ATD – alternatives to detention. At nan clip of his apprehension, "there was not conclusive information" to lucifer him to nan FBI’s Terrorism Watch List, nan officials said.

This aerial image taken successful September 2023 shows nan U.S.-Mexico separator successful San Ysidro, California. Kerwan primitively entered nan U.S. successful that area successful March 2023, DHS sources say. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images)

Eleven months later, successful February 2024, Karwan was officially added to nan FBI panic watchlist aft "derogatory" caller accusation was developed connected him, aggregate DHS sources told Fox News. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified, and ICE arrested him successful San Antonio successful February, nan sources said.

Two weeks ago, during a tribunal appearance, DHS prosecutors did not show nan national migration judge that nan Afghan was connected nan panic watchlist aliases a imaginable nationalist threat, only arguing that he was a imaginable formation risk. DHS cannot disclose what they do aliases don’t opportunity successful court, and is constricted successful what nan section tin show a judge, elder DHS officials told Fox News.

The judge ordered him released connected bond, according to a root acquainted pinch nan matter. 

As of Friday, Karwan has been taken into custody again pinch a tribunal quality group for adjacent year. 

Homeland Security told Fox News precocious Thursday nighttime that "law enforcement has been search nan matter intimately to protestation against nationalist information risks" and "the individual is presently successful U.S. custody."

"DHS takes earnestly its work to guarantee that those who participate nan state don’t airs a threat to our nationalist security. If an individual poses a threat to nationalist information aliases nationalist safety, we contradict admission, detain, remove, aliases mention them to different national agencies for further vetting, investigation and/or prosecution arsenic appropriate," a DHS spokesperson besides said. "Vetting is simply a point-in-time cheque that evaluates accusation disposable to nan U.S. Government astatine that time. If individuals who person entered nan state are later recovered to beryllium associated pinch accusation indicating a imaginable nationalist information aliases nationalist information concern, DHS and our national partners person procedures successful spot to analyse and return due act."

The U.S. National Counterterrorism Center describes "Hezb-e-Islami, aliases ‘Party of Islam,’" arsenic a "political and paramilitary statement successful Afghanistan founded successful 1976 by erstwhile Afghan premier curate Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who has been salient successful various Afghan conflicts since nan precocious 1970s."Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) is an offshoot of that original Hezb-e-Islami, and is simply a virulently anti-Western insurgent group whose extremity is to switch nan Western-backed Afghan Government pinch an Islamic authorities rooted successful law successful statement pinch Hekmatyar’s imagination of a Pashtun-dominated Afghanistan," it adds. "His group conducts attacks against Coalition forces, Afghan Government targets, and Western interests successful Afghanistan."

Fox News’ David Spunt and Madeleine Rivera contributed to this report.