“Unregretful” U.S. citizen sentenced to Life in Prison for Aiding Islamic State Group as Sniper

A 47-year-old former New York stockbroker who fled his job and family to fight alongside Islamic State militants in Syria, and then maintained his allegiance to the extremist group throughout his trial, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday.

His court-appointed attorney, Susan Kellman, declined to ask for a lighter sentence, noting her client, Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, was not interested in distancing himself from the Islamic State fighters in exchange for leniency.

Asainov told law enforcement officials that he did not recall how many people he had killed. But he spoke proudly of participating in the violent jihad, bragging that his students had taken enemy lives.