McLEAN, Va. — A former National Guard soldier has been charged with plotting to help the Islamic State group and contemplating a Fort Hood-style attack against the US military.

Mohamed Jalloh, 26, of Sterling, is expected to make an initial appearance Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Alexandria.

Court records made public Tuesday indicate Jalloh is a former member of the Army National Guard who says he quit after hearing lectures from radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

A court affidavit spells out a three-month sting operation in which Jalloh said he was thinking about carrying out an attack similar to the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, which left 13 people dead.

Jalloh’s case is the most recent of several in which men from northern Virginia have been charged with attempting to support the Islamic State group.

Court records indicate the FBI saw Jalloh buying an assault rifle Saturday at a gun shop in Chantilly. The affidavit is not clear as to whether authorities believe Jalloh planned to use the rifle himself or whether he may have been procuring it on behalf of an informant. He was arrested Sunday.

Jalloh’s sister, Fatmatu Jalloh, said in a brief telephone interview that she is serving as one of her brother’s attorneys. She said she had not yet seen the unsealed charges but she denied he would help the Islamic State group.

Jalloh is identified in the affidavit as a naturalized US citizen originally from Sierra Leone.

Associated Press