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The FBI has arrested three foreign nationals living in Brooklyn who agents say sought to join the Islamic State, the BBC reported.

Two of the men had threatened to kill police officers and FBI agents in the US if they were unable to travel to Syria, the FBI said.

The men came to the authorities' attention after they posted to Uzbek-language websites in recent months.

In one post, they pledged to kill US President Barack Obama, the FBI said.

Abdurasul Juraboev, 24, and Abror Habibov, 30, both of Uzbekistan; and Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, of Kazakhstan, were charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation.

Mr Saidakhmetov was arrested at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York on Tuesday, as he tried to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey.

Mr Juraboev bought a plane ticket to travel from New York to Istanbul next month, federal prosecutors said.

The third suspect, Mr Habibov, is accused of helping to fund Mr Saidakhmeto's efforts to join the Syrian jihadists, prosecutors said.

"This is real," William Bratton, commissioner of the New York Police Department, said on Wednesday.

"This is the concern about the lone wolf, inspired to act without ever going to the Mideast."

The US has charged about 20 people with planning to join militant groups overseas, many intending to go to Syria to fight with Islamic State (IS).