OC man pleads guilty to trying to support ISIS

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A 21-year-old Orange County man who tried to travel to Syria pleaded guilty to attempting to help the Islamic State terror organization Monday, federal prosecutors said.

Adam Dandach, also known as Fadi Fadi Dandach, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State and to lying on a passport application.

Dandach was stopped while trying to board a Delta Airlines flight at John Wayne Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, on July 2, 2014.

Dandach allegedly told investigators that "he was traveling to Syria for the purpose of pledging his alliance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, a known terrorist organization, that he would assist ISIS with anything that ISIS asked him to do, and that he believed the killings of U.S. soldiers are justified killings," federal court papers stated.

Dandach lied on a passport application when he claimed he accidentally threw away his old one. Prosecutors say he knew his mother confiscated his passport when she learned of his travel plans.

Dandach could face up to 25 years in prison when sentenced Jan. 11.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.