Russell Salic is one of three men accused of plotting a terrorist attack to unfold in New York City in 2016.
Reportedly 37 years old, Russell Salic was identified by the Department of Justice as a Philippine citizen.
In the Philippines, there is an orthopedic surgeon identified in local news reports as Dr. Russell Langi Salic who has been implicated, among other things, in various kidnappings and murders that occurred in the town of Iligan in April 2016. He was arrested for those crimes in early April of this year.
Iligan City, is just an hour away by car from Marawi City, where Maute bandits have been holed up since March 23, 2017. The Maute have professed allegiance to ISIS. Their occupation of Marawi is what prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law across the entire island of Mindanao in May.
Russell L. Salic has been a doctor since 2008. His specialty is orthopedic surgery. In 2015, he presented a paper titled “A Profile of Motorcycle Injuries in a Trauma Center in Cagayan De Oro City from 2011-2014” to the Philippine Orthopaedic Association.
In communicating online between May and June 2016 with his supposed co-conspirators, he used the aliases Abu Khalid, James Kelin and “the Doctor.” He was also referred to as the “UK Doctor.” It was on May 12, 2016 that Russell Salic wired about $423.80 dollars to the United States via Western Union. The money was sent from a particular Western Union branch located at a certain street address in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. The sender put down his date of birth as March 10, 1980. It was because he used his real name that the U.S. authorities quickly identified him.
As a surgeon, Dr. Salic is associated with the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (“NMMC”), a hospital located in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental. It just so happens that the Western Union and the NMMC are located at the same intersection in the city. Online, he shared information with colleagues that he had previously sent money to ISIL agents in Bosnia and Lebanon.
In a review of records between February 2015 and June 2016, money was sent to individuals in various countries around the world on at least six different occasions, in amounts ranging from approximately $180 to $435 by a sender listed in the Western Union records as “Russell Salic” or as one of the following variations on that name: “Russell L. Salic,” “Russell Langi Salic,” or “Russel Langi Salic.” On each occasion, the date of birth listed for the sender is the same DOB.
Aside from the United States, the countries in which the recipients of those transfers were located are as follows: Malaysia, Syria, Australia, Lebanon, and Palestine. All six money transfers were made from the same location: the Western Union store in Cagayan de Oro.
In or about April 2016, “Russell Salic” and “Russel Salic” sent money on two occasions, in the amounts of approximately $422 and $583, to the same location in Bosnia. “Abu Khalid” told one of hs conspirators that he had sent money to Bosnia, specifically to MoneyGram. The date of birth listed for the sender for both transactions in Salic’s given DOB.
There was at one time a mayor of Marawi City named Fajad Salic, who was arrested in the Philippines in June this year on charges of rebellion in connection with the siege of the nation’s only Islamic city.
In its formative years, the notorious Maute group received financial support from then Marawi City mayor Fajad Salic, who is also known to Filipinos as the ex-husband of Alma Moreno, an extremely popular character actress.
According to the charges unsealed and made publicly available on October 6, 2017, Russell Salic wired money to the United States to fund a terrorist attack, which was being planned in North America by Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian.
The third man charged is Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old US citizen living in Pakistan at the time.
It appears the two were young “wannabe” terrorists, one of whom made the fortuitous mistake of communicating with an undercover agent who pretended to be share their same fanaticism.
SALIC COMPLAINT (SEVEN COUNTS)
Southern District of New York
1. Conspiracy to Use Weapons of Mass Destruction
2. Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries
3. Conspiracty to Bomb a Place of Public Use and Public Transportation System
4. Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Terrorists
5. Provision of Material Support to Terrorists
6. Conspiracy to Provide Material Support and Resources to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization
7. Provision of Material Support and Resource to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization
