CRIME

Jury deliberations expected soon in Islamic State case

Associated Press
Published | Updated

FILE - This undated file photo provided the Sherburne County, Minn., Sheriff's Office shows Abdirahman Yasin Daud, one of several Minnesota men accused of conspiring to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in the trial for Daud and two other men in Minneapolis. (Sherburne County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office shows Guled Ali Omar, one of several Minnesota men accused of conspiring to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in the trial for Omar and two other men in Minneapolis. (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Stillwater, Minn., shows Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, one of several Minnesota men facing trial for allegedly plotting to join the Islamic State group. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday, May 31, 2016, in the trial for Farah and two other men in Minneapolis. (Washington County Sheriff's Office via AP) (The Associated Press)

Jury deliberations are expected to begin soon in the federal trial of three Minnesota men accused of plotting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group.

The attorney for 21-year-old Guled Ali Omar gives his closing argument Wednesday. Defense attorneys for 22-year-old Abdirahman Yasin Daud (Ahb-DEER'-ah-mahn YAH'-sin Dah-OOD') and 22-year-old Mohamed Abdihamid Farah (Mo-HAHM'-ed Ahb-dee-HAHM'-id FAHR'-ah) told jurors Tuesday that their clients were not part of a conspiracy.

A federal prosecutor argued the three defendants were intent in their efforts to join the Islamic State group in Syria and knew they would be killing people once they got there.

The three have pleaded not guilty to several charges. The most serious is conspiracy to commit murder outside the United States, which carries the possibility of life in prison.