‘American’ jihadi with ISIS explains defection from Al Nusrah Front

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An Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham fighter who identified himself as Abu Muhammad al Amriki (“the American”) was featured in a video released yesterday on YouTube and distributed by jihadist forums [watch the full video, below]. Abu Muhammad, who speaks with accented English and appears to be fluent in Arabic, explained the reason for his defection from the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and why he subsequently joined the ISIS, which was recently denounced by Al Qaeda General Command.

Abu Muhammad is videotaped in front of an ISIS flag and what appears to be a large map of a town. From the SITE Intelligence Group’s summary of the video:

Speaking in English, Abu Muhammad indicated that he had lived in the United States for 10-11 years before departing to Syria for jihad, and that he had served under Saifullah al Shishani, a now-deceased Chechen commander in the al Qaeda affiliated Al Nusrah Front, and left Al Nusrah. He spoke at length about an issue where weapons were being taken from his area of Atma, a town in Syria’s Idlib governorate near the Syria-Turkey border, and allegedly being given to fighters to strike the ISIS.

It is unclear if Abu Muhammad is an American citizen or merely lived in the country without obtaining citizenship. His nom de guerre indicates that he self-identifies as an American. US officials in the FBI, Department of Justice, and the State Department who were contacted by The Long War Journal said that they are currently investigating to determine if Abu Muhammad is an American citizen.

Abu Muhammad appears to be detailing the ousting of the ISIS from Atma that is described in this article from Asharq Al Awsat. He claimed he was an emir in Atma. The Al Nusrah Front confirmed the death of Saifullah al Shishani [the Chechen], Abu Muhammad’s former commander in the Al Nusrah Front, this week. Saifullah himself defected from the ISIS last year.

Americans are known to fight in Syria against the Assad regime, and most are thought to join the Al Nusrah Front, the ISIS, or Islamist groups such as the brigades in the Islamic Front. On Feb. 4, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, told Congress that more than 50 Americans are thought to be waging jihad in Syria, and are among 7,500 foreign fighters in the country.

The most infamous American to have fought in Syria is Eric Harroun, who fought with the Al Nusrah Front, and then turned himself in to US officials while in Turkey. Harroun later pled guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced to time served.

Other known American jihadists include Amiir Farouk Ibrahim, who was born in Pennsylvania on Oct. 30, 1980, according to his passport, which was found in an ISIS safe house last year. Ibrahim is thought to have been killed last year.

Nicole Lynn Mansfield, an American from Flint, Mich., was killed in May 2013. She fought for Ahrar al Sham, an Islamist brigade that is part of the Islamic Front. One of Ahrar al Sham’s top leaders is also a senior al Qaeda leader and the personal representative to Ayman al Zawahiri in Syria.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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4 Comments

  • blert says:

    I found his narrative extremely hard to follow.
    His delivery reminds me of the speech stylings of recovering alcoholics and addicts. As heard above, such persons have poorly chained thoughts, with chopped up sequences that are impossible to picture in ones head. It’s like a film that has twenty-seconds chopped out somewhere, some how, for every minute it runs. The longer you pay attention, the more confused you’re getting.
    The account above ^^^^ is so loopy that it’s hard to know who is crossing over whom.
    English is very much a Second Language for him, as he is constantly slipping into Arabic so as to get his point across. He’s not sure common English is conveying his message.
    His command is so weak, it’s hard to believe that he attained citizenship; but I guess anything’s possible.

  • Shlomo says:

    He’s Turkish or Turkish is his first language.

  • Birbal Dhar says:

    Clearly not a born American citizen. His accent sounds very much like someone from Turkey. He wouldn’t be Arab, otherwise he would be speaking in that language.

  • Pat says:

    Guess you haven’t been in a NY cab lately. Guy speaks like everyone else in jersey city. Our immigration system is a joke. So yes I believe he may have lived in America for some time. Maybe. More importantly it appears the brain drain on the leadership of our enemy may be paying off. I hope ISIS and Nushra keep killing each other in large numbers. Praise be Allah.

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