Virginia man pleads guilty in attempt to join Islamic State

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) – A northern Virginia man charged in a sting operation with attempting to join the Islamic State has pleaded guilty to a federal terrorism charge.

Twenty-eight-year-old Joseph Farrokh of Woodbridge admitted Friday at a plea hearing in federal court in Alexandria that he made arrangements to join the Islamic State with three men he believed were ISIL facilitators. In reality, though, the men were part of a government sting.

Farrokh was arrested in January after checking in at the Richmond airport on a flight itinerary that would have taken him to Jordan.

In conversations recorded by the FBI, Farrokh said he wanted to die a martyr.

A second defendant who allegedly helped Farrokh by driving him to the airport remains in jail awaiting trial.