By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Kurdish Democratic Forces in Syria report the arrest of two Americans allegedly fighting with or aiding the Islamic State terrorist organization in Syria. The two men are identified as Warren Christopher Clark, 34, of Texas and Zaid Abed al-Hamed, 35.
They were captured by the Kurds during a counter-terrorism raid near the Iraq border in the vicinity of one of the few remaining holds of ISIS in Syria. Prior to their capture, the two, along with a Pakistani National and a male reportedly from Ireland, were preparing an attack against civilians fleeing the battlefields.
The Kurds made the announcement last Sunday and U.S. Army Colonel Scott Rawlinson reports the incident is under investigation.
Military.com provided the following information:
Under the alias Abu Muhammad al-Ameriki, Clark had submitted an application seeking to join ISIS as an English teacher in Mosul, which had served as the Iraqi capital of ISIS’s physical caliphate from summer 2014 until it was liberated by U.S.-backed and trained Iraqi forces in summer 2017. Using the application’s resume and sources in Texas, researchers identified Clark as a University of Houston graduate who had converted to Islam in 2004 and was radicalized after viewing jihadist videos online, NBC News reported earlier this year. He had worked as a substitute teacher in Texas before traveling to Saudi Arabia to teach English for two years and then going to Turkey.
By Darren Smith
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.