Virginia Teen Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Supporting ISIL

A 17-year-old teenager from the US state of Virginia used social media to provide material support to ISIL.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A 17-year-old teenager from the US state of Virginia was sentenced to 136 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State (ISIL), the US Department of Justice stated in a press release on Friday.

"Ali Shukri Amin is a young American who used social media to provide material support to ISIL [Islamic State]," Assistant Attorney General Carlin was quoted as saying in the release.

Amin used Twitter to give ISIL supporters "advice and encouragement" on how to mask provision of funds to ISIL using Bitcoin and facilitate travel for those seeking to join the terrorist group, according to the release.

The teenager pleaded guilty on June 11, the Justice Department said.

"ISIL continues to use social media to send their violent and hateful message around the world in an attempt to radicalize, recruit and incite youth and others to support their cause. More and more, their propaganda is seeping into our communities and reaching those who are most vulnerable," Carlin said.

According to US intelligence, up to 30,000 foreign fighters have joined the Islamic State extremists in their fight against the government forces in Syria and Iraq.