A federal agent removes items from an apartment following the arrest of Omar Ameen, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, in Sacramento, Calif. Ameen, a 45-year-old Iraqi refugee, was arrested on a warrant alleging that he killed an Ir...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A refugee from Iraq was arrested Wednesday in Northern California on a warrant alleging that he killed an Iraqi policeman while fighting for the Islamic State organization. Ameen allegedly arrived in Rawah, Iraq “with a caravan of ISIS vehicles” -- after the organization gained control of the town on June 21, 2014 -- and made their way to the Rawah police officer's home, officials said. Omar Ameen, 45, was arrested Wednesday in Sacramento, California by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, three months after an Iraqi magistrate issued an arrest warrant charging him with the murder of an Iraqi policeman in 2014, the Justice Department said. Following the alleged incident, Ameen relocated to Sacramento from Iraq “as a purported refugee” and did not mention his alleged ties to the terrorist organizations when seeking refugee status and a green card in the U.S., officials said. Officials at the State Department say new vetting protocols are "enabling departments and agencies to more thoroughly review applicants to identify threats to public safety and national security." The Iraqi arrest warrant and extradition request allege that after the town of Rawah, Iraq fell to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) on June 21, 2014, Ameen entered the town with a caravan of ISIS vehicles and drove to the house of the victim, who had served as an officer in the Rawah Police Department. Today’s arrest and efforts to initiate the extradition process are the product of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Department of Justice — in particular the Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs, which played a significant role — the U.S. Department of State, the FBI — in particular the FBI Sacramento Field Office which provided considerable resources to further this investigation and ensure the safety of the American people throughout it — and ICE-Homeland Security Investigations. It is also alleged that he participated in various activities in support of those terrorist organizations, including helping to plant improvised explosive devices, and committing the murder that is the subject of the extradition request.
Omar Ameen, an ISIL member who lived in California as a refugee, is arrested in Sacramento for a 2014 murder in Rawa, Iraq.