US patrol officer linked to Islamic State

Prosecutors have brought the first-ever terrorism charges against a law enforcement officer in the US, alleging that a patrol officer with the Washington DC region’s Metro Transit Police was caught buying $250 (€225) worth of cards for Islamic State (IS).

In July, Nicholas Young, who lives in Virginia, sent codes for gift cards worth $245 to an FBI informant. The gift cards were intended for mobile-messaging accounts IS uses to recruit its followers.

Mr Young believed the informant was an acquaintance of his who was working with IS, court records said.