Another One Bites the Dust! American Douglas McAuthur McCain Dies in Syria Fighting for ISIS [VIDEO] An American man died a week from last weekend in Syria while fighting for ISIS, the latest evidence of the reach of a terror group thats become increasingly powerful and feared in the eyes of Americans. Douglas McAuthur McCain, 33, died in a battle between rival extremist groups in the suburbs of Aleppo, Syrias once-bustling commercial capital and largest city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the conflict. The mans uncle, Ken McCain, said that his nephew had gone to fight as a jihadi and that the U.S. State Department told the family Monday about the death. Like U.S. officials, the group characterized McCain as an ISIS fighter and said he was killed battling al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-linked organization that the U.S. government has blacklisted as a foreign terror organization. Other Americans already within ISIS ranks Westerners with ISIS a growing threat Kean: Appalled at lack of ISIS knowledge McCain was not the first American to fight alongside militants in Syria. Attorney General Eric Holder estimated this summer that there are 7,000 foreign fighters in the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation. Dozens of Americans, perhaps up to 100, are among those who have tried to join various militant groups there, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told CNN. U.S.: Jihadi in suicide bombing video grew up in Florida Nor was McCain the first of these American militants to die in Syria. Islamists touted the role of a 22-year-old man -- identified by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki as Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, who grew up and went to school in Florida -- in a northern Syria suicide bombing conducted in coordination with al-Nusra Front. Yet McCains death takes on added significance, perhaps urgency, given that hes believed to be the first American killed while fighting with ISIS. Until now, Washington largely has limited its involvement in Syria to diplomatic efforts and supporting moderate opposition, as described by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey and others, that is fighting to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Thats the same goal as ISIS, which aims to rule a caliphate, known as the Islamic State, spanning Iraq and Syria. Even so, the United States initiated airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq this month and signaled that it might next go after the group inside Syria. And it has begun gathering intelligence on ISIS in Syria, potentially ahead of more airstrikes there. ISIS has threatened to kill more Americans if the U.S. continues to go after it. But the fact McCain was among its ranks adds another fear: That the group includes other Americans who, rather than dying on the battlefield, might inflict harm stateside. Theres real concern that they could take what theyve learned ... come back home and conduct terror attacks, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby told CNN. So I think (McCain) is a stark reminder of the inside threat that foreign fighters (in ISIS) can pose. Official: Obama weighing options against ISIS in Syria Who was Douglas McCain? Little was immediately known publicly about McCains life, beyond how it ended. He attended San Diego City College, though its spokesman Jack Beresford would not say when McCain attended, for how long or for what purpose. Several years ago, according to his uncle, McCain converted from Christianity to Islam -- the first step on his journey to Syria. The family wasnt alarmed by his conversion, but his Facebook posts sympathetic to ISIS got their attention. When they last heard from him several months ago, McCain said he was traveling to Turkey, according to his uncle. Is there support for ISIS in London? Dealing with ISIS and Assad in Syria CNN speaks to British jihadi fighter The fact that McCain became a jihadi left his family devastated and just as surprised as the country, said Ken McCain, who lives in Minnesota. He described the nephew he knew as a good person, loved his family, loved his mother, loved his faith -- the latter being a reference to the Christianity he practiced before his conversion. U.S. counterterrorism investigators had been looking into McCains activities for some time before his death, one U.S. official said. He was on a list of Americans who are believed to have joined militant groups and who would be stopped and subjected to additional scrutiny if he traveled, according to the official. Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, who had top roles in the State and Defense Departments in President George W. Bushs administration, said he expects more stories like McCains. The ability to travel into these countries demonstrates how porous the borders are, Kimmitt said. I think we need to understand that theres going to be more of this rather than less of this. Philko vs the world https://youtube/watch?v=47J3hUwdI7Y
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 06:51:50 +0000
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