| New York Times | - |
WASHINGTON - A United States citizen working in Syria
with a militant group backed by Al Qaeda conducted a suicide bombing
there Sunday, in what is believed to be the first time an American has
been involved in such an attack, American officials said ...
WASHINGTON — A United States citizen working in Syria with a militant group backed by Al Qaeda
conducted a suicide bombing there Sunday, in what is believed to be the
first time an American has been involved in such an attack, American
officials said Wednesday.
The
suicide attack first surfaced on Tuesday in Twitter messages from the
Nusra Front, an Islamist extremist group in Syria aligned with Al Qaeda
in the fight against the government of President Bashar al-Assad of
Syria.
American
officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because intelligence
matters were involved, declined to identify the American or provide any
information about him. NBC News first reported that American government
officials had confirmed the bomber was an American.
Syrian
activists and jihadist social media sites reported that the American
went by the name Abu Huraira al-Amriki and carried out the suicide truck
bombing in the northern province of Idlib.
A
photo circulated on jihadist social media accounts showed a smiling
young man who was said to be the bomber. He had a blond beard and was
holding a cat to his chest.
Activists
also circulated a video that was said to record the attack. It first
showed rebels loading what appear to be tank shells into a large vehicle
that had been armored with metal plates. In the video, there is a large
explosion after the vehicle drives down a road.
An
antigovernment activist reached through Skype near the bombing site
confirmed the attack and said he had seen the American before the
bombing but had not spoken to him and did not know where he was from.
“I
know he was an American, had an American passport and that he was with
the Nusra Front,” said the activist, who gave only his first name,
Ahmed, for fear of retribution.
Islamic
extremist groups in Syria with ties to Al Qaeda have been trying to
identify, recruit and train Americans and other Westerners who have
traveled there to get them to carry out attacks when they return home,
according to senior American intelligence and counterterrorism
officials.
These
efforts, which the officials say are in the early stages, are the
latest challenge that the conflict in Syria has created, not just for
Europe but for the United States. The civil war has become a magnet for
Westerners seeking to fight with the rebels against the Assad
government.
American
intelligence and counterterrorism officials say more than 70 Americans
have traveled to Syria, mainly to fight for one of the hundreds of
rebels groups combating the Assad government. The F.B.I., C.I.A.,
National Counterterrorism Center and Homeland Security Department
recently created a special team of analysts to try to prevent the
American jihadists from returning home undetected.
American
officials say their concerns about the recruitment and training of
Americans are based on intelligence gathered from passenger travel
records, human sources on the ground in Syria, intercepted electronic
communications, social media postings and surveillance of Americans
overseas who have expressed interest in traveling to Syria.
American
intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that more than 70
Americans have traveled to Syria, mainly to fight for one of the
hundreds of rebels groups combating the Assad government. “The recent
flood of militants into the country poses a serious challenge, as these
individuals could be trained to plan and carry out attacks around the
world,” Mark F. Giuliano, the deputy F.B.I. director, said in prepared
remarks in Washington on Wednesday.
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An American suicide bomber Syria is a “potential game changer,” said Seth Jones, a terrorism expert at the RAND Corporation.
“It
indicates that Americans are honing their ability to conduct terrorist
attacks,” Mr. Jones said, and could eventually be used inside the United
States or against American interests abroad.
Most
of the Americans who have traveled to Syria are still there, American
officials said, although a few have died on the battlefield. Nicole Lynn
Mansfield, 33, of Flint, Mich., a convert to Islam, was killed in May
2013 while with Syrian rebels in Idlib Province.
Last
year, another American, Eric G. Harroun, a former Army soldier from
Phoenix, was indicted in Virginia by a federal grand jury on charges
related to allegations that he fought alongside members of the Nusra
Front. In September, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge involving
conspiracy to transfer defense articles and services, and was released
from custody. Mr. Harroun’s family posted a notice on his Facebook page
last month saying that he had died, apparently from an accidental
overdose.
Other
American citizens or residents have been detained before they arrived
in Syria. Basit Javed Sheikh, 29, of Cary, N.C., was arrested in
November 2013 for trying to provide material support to the Nusra Front
as he was trying to board a series of flights to join the group,
American authorities said.
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