A Brooklyn resident has pleaded not guilty to traveling overseas in an attempt to join a terrorist group and fight against American forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans.

Betim Kaziu, 21, was charged in Brooklyn federal court with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. His indictment was unsealed on September 24, 2009. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Kaziu, a U.S. citizen from Brooklyn, allegedly formed a plan to travel overseas to join a “radical foreign fighter group” and to take up arms against perceived enemies of Islam, according to the Department of Justice. Kaziu, who reportedly told his family he wanted to study Arabic in the Middle East, boarded a flight from New York to Cairo in February 2009.

While in Egypt, Kaziu continued his efforts to fight American forces. He allegedly sought to travel to Pakistan for military training and attempted to join Al Shabaab, a U.S.-designated terrorist group with links to Al Qaeda that seeks to overthrow the Somali government. Kaziu also attempted to purchase weapons, which prosecutors allege he intended to use against U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans, where he ultimately went. Kaziu reportedly told his family he was traveling to Kosovo and Macedonia to visit friends and relatives.

Kaziu was arrested by Kosovan authorities in late August. According to media reports, authorities recovered AK-47s and hand grenades at various locations associated with the case against Kaziu and three other Kosovans suspected of planning to commit terrorist attacks.

Kaziu was extradited to New York at the end of September 2009. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.