North Carolina Man Facing Charges of Trying To Join Al Qaeda-Linked Group

Al Nusra is fighting against the Assad regime in Syria

A North Carolina man is facing federal charges that he sought to join an al-Qaida-linked militant group fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Basit Javed Sheikh, 29, of Cary, is charged in a federal criminal indictment with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He was arrested on Nov. 2 before boarding the first of a series of flights that would take him to Lebanon.