Syrians Detained In Honduras Not Linked To Terrorist Attacks, Authorities Say

Authorities in Honduras have confirmed that the five men who were detained on Wednesday at the International Toncontin of Tegucigalpa Airport located in the capital of Honduras are not linked to any terrorist cell.

A group of Syrian men were detained in Honduras Wednesday afternoon after trying to enter the country with fake passports from Greece. It was reported that all passports had different names and were stolen. It was unsure of how the men got hold of the documents. The men were arrested for forgery.

On Thursday, Honduran authorities have identified the five men as Majd Ghanout Kousa, 21; Fady Freej Shehada, 26; William Ghanem, 19; Lourans Samaan, 19, and Mazen Mikhail, 25. The New York Times reports that according to Anibal Baca, spokesman for the police investigative unit, the Syrian men claimed "to be fleeing the civil war in Syria" and "hoping for asylum in the United States."

Among the men are four students and a professional worker, who all admitted to buying the stolen passports before leaving their country. The men traveled from Syria to Lebanon to Turkey, and then to Brazil, Argentina and Costa Rica before arriving in Honduras. Their initial plan was to then enter the U.S. illegally. According to Yuri Mora, a spokesman for the Honduran public prosecutor, the men have no criminal record and are not linked to ISIS. “At this point we can’t rule that out,” he told the NY Times.

Authorities in Honduras have asked for permission to hold the men for an extra 48 hours. They are being investigated on suspicion of forgery and identity theft.