Alwaght- An ISIS terrorist from the US was arrested in Iraq after emerging from territory controlled by the terrorists group in Syria, a local commander told Kurdish media. The US citizen allegedly mistook the area for the Turkish border.
A local commander says that the arrested man was 27-year-old Muhammad Jamal Amin, a Virginia-born US citizen of a Palestinian father and an Iraqi mother.
The commander said that Kurdish forces fired on the man before he reached their base near Sinjar, and later detained him.
A number of cell phones, some money, and ID cards were seized from the militant.
According to the officer, who did not want to be named, the man mistook the Peshmerga territory for the Turkish border. The man had reportedly entered Syria from Turkey two months ago.
The US is in contact with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities on the reported capture of the ISIS terrorist, according to a State Department official in Washington
"We are in touch with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to determine the veracity of these reports," the official said on condition of anonymity.
A Pentagon spokesman, Capt. Jeff Davis, said in a statement: “We’re aware of the reports, aware that the U.S. citizen allegedly fighting for ISIS has been captured by pesh merga forces in northern Iraq. We’re in touch with Iraqi and Kurdish authorizes to determine the veracity of these reports.”
Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said at Monday’s news briefing that he could not answer any questions about the man.
Kurdish officials in Iraq identified the American as Mohammed Jamal Amin, 27, but an image that Kurdish officials appeared to have circulated on social media showed a Virginia driver’s license belonging to a man named Mohamad Jamal Khweis who would be 26 years old.
Thousands of Europeans and Americans have travelled to Syria to join ISIS terrorist group. Early February Europol revealed that five-thousand citizens from the EU have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the Takfiri terrorist group. Over 500 US citizens are believed to have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS terrorist group.
