Abdullah Bozkurt/Stockholm
The recent arrest of a 33-year-old Tajik national in the United States by federal authorities has shed light on Turkey’s role as a critical conduit for financial and logistical operations linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its affiliate, ISIS-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), through its Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York — which includes personnel from the FBI, the New York Police Department and more than 50 other federal, state and local agencies — apprehended Mansuri Manuchekhri on February 26. He faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS-K, illegal possession of firearms and immigration fraud.
According to court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, Manuchekhri initially entered the US on a tourist visa in June 2016 but remained illegally after its expiration in December of the same year. Between December 2021 and June 2023 he allegedly conspired with people in Turkey to provide financial and logistical support to ISIS and ISIS-K, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the US government.
Evidence obtained by federal authorities indicates that Manuchekhri was in direct communication with ISIS operatives in Turkey, sending funds to support the group’s activities. While the complaint does not explicitly name his Turkey-based associates, the details strongly suggest the involvement of Tajik nationals Shamsullo Radzhobov and Shamil Hukumatov.
Radzhobov owned or operated a Hyundai sedan with Polish license plates that was used in the January 28, 2024 attack on the Church of Santa Maria (Meryem Ana Doğuş Kilisesi) in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district. The attack, claimed by ISIS, was carried out by Tajik national Amirjon Kholikov (aka Hamza) and Russian-born Tajik David Tanduev, who used Radzhobov’s vehicle as their getaway car after the killing of a Turkish citizen.
Text of the complaint filed against Mansuri Manuchekhri by US federal authorities:
Despite Turkish intelligence agency MIT’s prior knowledge of Radzhobov and his associates’ ISIS ties, no action was taken until after the attack. These individuals had successfully acquired Turkish identity documents by registering as refugees, bypassing red flags that should have been raised during immigration background checks that involved vetting by MIT.
The FBI investigation revealed that between December 2021 and April 2023, Manuchekhri facilitated the transfer of approximately $70,000 to ISIS-K operatives and their families. The funds were funneled through intermediaries, including Radzhobov, identified as “CC-2” in the federal complaint.
Another alleged co-conspirator, referred to as “CC-1,” appears to be Shamil Hukumatov, a longtime ISIS-K recruiter and fundraiser operating in Turkey. Also known by his alias Abu Miskin, Hukumatov was arrested in Turkey in June 2023 based on an outstanding warrant issued by Tajik authorities.
Exchanges between Manuchekhri and Hukumatov included discussions on social media fundraising, financial aid distribution to ISIS members and recorded money transfers. In one message Manuchekhri sent a video of himself at a New Jersey shooting range firing what appeared to be an assault rifle, captioned, “Thank God, I am ready.” He reportedly frequented shooting ranges across the country.
Manuchekhri’s radicalization came to authorities’ attention in August 2024, when a family member reported concerns about his violent behavior. The person detailed his history of domestic violence and threats of aggression.
Additionally, he has been charged with illegal firearms possession. In February 2022 he was found with multiple weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle and a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 tactical rifle, despite being prohibited from firearm possession due to his immigration status. A Russian national with whom he lived in Brooklyn later offered him a Glock 22 handgun for $1,000 via text message on February 8, 2024.
Manuchekhri also allegedly engaged in immigration fraud by entering into a sham marriage with a US citizen in 2017 to obtain legal residence. Court filings indicate he provided false statements on immigration documents, misrepresenting his marriage and subsequent divorce. In 2021 he sought residence under the Violence Against Women Act, falsely claiming to have been abused by his spouse. Text messages obtained by authorities show he paid his supposed wife for the marriage and later had financial disputes over ongoing payments.
If convicted, Manuchekhri faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in federal prison, facing charges related to material support for a designated terrorist organization, firearms violations and immigration fraud. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities seek to identify additional members of his network.
The complaint does not clarify whether US authorities requested cooperation from Turkish officials in investigating Manuchekhri’s associates. However, previous reports suggest Turkish authorities were aware of ISIS-K operations within their borders but failed to act preemptively.
In November 2024 Nordic Monitor published intelligence documents indicating that MIT had withheld information for an extended period regarding ISIS-K’s planned attacks on churches, synagogues and Western diplomatic missions in Istanbul and Ankara. Intelligence sharing with Turkish police reportedly only occurred on December 21, 2023 — after Western embassies in Turkey had announced closures due to an imminent terrorist threat. The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan initially dismissed these security warnings, accusing Western nations of political interference ahead of local elections.
Following the church attack, the Turkish government quickly imposed a gag order to control the narrative. Pro-government media outlets and propagandists sought to shift the blame, circulating conspiracy theories that foreign intelligence agencies were behind the attack. For example, an article in Hürriyet, a state-aligned newspaper, suggested that “foreign intelligence agencies targeting Turkey utilized ISIS as a proxy organization.” Government propagandist Nedim Şener even speculated on January 31 that Israel’s Mossad might have orchestrated the attack.
Despite the Erdogan government’s efforts to deflect scrutiny, mounting evidence — including the recently unsealed US federal complaint — confirms that ISIS and ISIS-K have been exploiting Turkey as a logistics hub for their operations. The revelations in the US investigation further corroborate the longstanding allegations of Turkish authorities’ inaction and complicity in enabling ISIS-linked networks to flourish in the country.
