ISISAmerican ISIS fighter captured in northern Iraq
Muhammad Jamal Amin, a 27-year old American from Virginia who joined ISIS and fought in its ranks, was taken into custody in northern Iraq. He was captured by Kurdish forces after trying to cross into Turkey. Amin is the first American fighting with ISIS to have surrendered in the field.
CBS News reports that two sources with the Kurdish peshmerga military force told the network that Amin was attempting to return to Turkey.
As Amin was trying to cross into Turkey near the frontline in Golat village, he came under fire by Kurdish forces and handed himself over.
A local commander, who did not want to be named, told Kurdish news outlet Rudaw that the man, who spoke English and broken Arabic, had mistaken Peshmerga territory for the Turkish border.
Amin did not have a passport but was carrying an American driving license.
“He said the situation with ISIS is not good,” one source told CBS News, noting that the fighter appeared tired. “We gave him food and treated him with respect and handed him over to military intelligence.”
“We are in touch with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to determine the veracity of these reports,” a State Department official in Washington said on condition of anonymity.
The New York Times quotes a Pentagon spokesman as saying: “We’re aware of the reports, aware that the U.S. citizen allegedly fighting for ISIL has been captured by peshmerga forces in northern Iraq. We’re in touch with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to determine the veracity of these reports.”
Seamus Hughes, an expert on Islamist extremism in the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University, told the Times notes that if Amin’s identity is confirmed, it would be the first American fighting with ISIS to have surrendered in the field.
